It's A Hate, Love Relationship
by DiAnna44
Summary: When Sting & Lucy meet in the forest one day, they find themselves running into each other everywhere. In fact, they almost can't stay away, even thought they're complete opposites, with Lucy being bossy and cute,&Sting being a complete arrogant jerk...but also sweet. What happens if they realize they're falling for each other,& what will Natsu think? StiCy! How will the pair do?YA
1. Encounter

**1: Encounter**

(Lucy's POV)

I have no idea where I even am. I looked around to look for some sort of recognition of anything. Nothing. Man, this sucks. I pulled out my celestial keys and decided on Pyxis, the Gate of the Compass.

After calling on Pyxis and being utterly disappointed to remember that he can only do directions which is not helpful to me right now since I don't know which way Fairy Tail even is…I just started to walk around and try looking for someone to help me, even if I was in the middle of a forest. I had just come back from a job, which I had gone solo on because I needed to be sure that I would actually get money this time, and not pay for expenses.

I continued to walk for what seemed like forever, and eventually it started to get dark. This was _not_ good. I had to get back to Fairy Tail by tomorrow in order to pay my rent, and I was still completely and utterly lost. I looked around frantically and decided to start calling out for someone, anyone.

"Hello? Anybody there? Hello?"

No response. That's. Just. Great. I tried again.

"Hello? Please respond someone…hello? Hello?" I called out helplessly. I looked up at the sky and saw that clouds were starting to come in. Oh no. I started to pick up my pace, and now I was running.

"HELLO?" I screamed as loud as I could.

"_HELLO_! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP-"

"Oh for all that is holy, would you _shut up?!_" I heard someone say.

"…Hello?" I asked, unsurely. Did I just hear somebody?

"Goodbye? That's what I ask since I was trying to take a fucking nap." The voice was getting closer and I could tell it was a guy speaking.

"Umm…sorry. I…it's just, well…umm…I'm lost, and…well…"

"Jesus. You do know how to speak right? Wait never mind. You obviously do since you just _woke me up_ with all of your screaming and from my very peaceful nap, I must add." The voice was getting much more closer now. I could hear twigs snapping and footsteps coming closer as I stood there rooted to the ground.

The person was now coming out from behind a tree to the right of me. He stood somewhat away from me, so I couldn't get a good look at his face.

"Well, _sorry_ for disturbing your nap, but you see I'm lost and I need-" He cut me off.

"A damsel in distress, huh?" he said. I could practically _feel_ his smirk.

"Well, what were you even doing _sleeping_ in a place like this when it's about to _rain_?" I said, somewhat irritated from that damsel remark. I _swear_, I could _literally feel_ his smirk growing larger.

"I think it should be quite obvious, actually. I was so _obviously_ waiting for a damsel to come on along and ask for directions. Although, I was expecting you a little earlier, and_ not _when I was taking my _nap!_" he said, obviously annoyed.

"I already said I'm sorry about your stupid nap. Look, I'm lost and I need to get back to Magnolia to pay my rent, which is due _tomorrow_! So, could you just tell me how to get out of here, and then you can go back to having your "precious" nap and drown in the rain for all I care. Could you please just tell me how to get out of here?!" I was seriously annoyed now, and that smirk that I _know_ he had on was not helping.

"What's your name Miss Damsel in Distress?" The guy said suddenly.

"What?" I asked him, completely surprised by his question. Couldn't he just tell me how to get out of here? It really wasn't that hard!

"Your name?" he asked again, as if my response was because I didn't hear him.

"No, no. I heard you. It's just…why do you want to know my name?" I asked him.

"It's because I so obviously want to sue you for waking me up," he said sarcastically, "it's because I'm curious, geesh. What's so hard about telling me your name?"

"What's so hard about telling me how to get out of here?" I countered back. He laughed and said,

"Nothing. I know how to get out of here, but I'll only tell you if you tell me what your name is."

"I asked you first, though…" I said.

"I don't care. You woke me up from my nap, so actually you should be lucky that I'm not killing you right now and blessing you with the fact that I want to know your name." He said. My face was burning. He was just so…_cocky,_ and _annoying!_

"Well, what's your name?" I asked to try and distract him.

It didn't work.

"Ah, ah, ah. Now you're asking three questions when I'm only asking one. Now, how is that fair Miss Damsel in Distress?" He asked me. I was confused. I only asked him for his name and more importantly how to get out of here! So what was the third… He cut into my thoughts and said,

"First you scream at me on how to get out of here. Then you ask what I'm doing sleeping in here, and finally you ask what my name is. You sure are curious, now aren't you? All I asked for was for your name." He told me. I squinted at him to try and make out his characteristics. For some reason, he sort of seemed familiar or something. I just couldn't make it out though…he continued to speak.

"How about this. You tell me your name, and I'll tell you the answer to _two_ of those questions that you asked. Agreed?" He asked me. I nodded, although it was so dark I doubt he could see me.

"Fine," I said, "My name's Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Lucy Heartfilia," he said.

"That's me. Now, how do I get out of here?" I asked him.

"What about your other question?" he asked me.

"What other question?" I asked.

"I said, you can get two questions and I'll answer them both, so what's your other question?" he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't care! Just tell me how to get out of here, please! Before it rains!" I looked up at the sky worriedly, and back towards his direction.

"No. You get two questions, so what's your other one?" he said. He was so stubborn!

"Ughh! Fine! What were you doing out here then?"

"Well…" he said. I was going to kill him. He was doing this on purpose! I looked back up at the sky and saw how dark it was. I had to get home, _now_. I was also very hungry. No doubt that Natsu ate all my food though…

"I was sleeping because I was tired," he said with a smile in his voice.

"That's great. Now how do I get out of here?" I asked a little too desperately.

"You just keep walking towards the right, yeah where I am, and eventually you'll be in a town, where you can just catch a train to Magnolia. There. Happy now?" he told me. I nodded as I looked back up at the sky to find my face being a landing for few raindrops now. It was raining. Of course. That's my stupid luck.

I looked back at the right towards the guy and said,

"Thanks a lot. Well, I'll be going now." I started towards him to get out. I felt myself brush past him and him chuckle softly. Oh how I wanted to punch this guy.

I was pretty far away and I could barely make out a town at the edge of the forest before I heard him call out,

"Hey Lucy!" I turned around and yelled back,

"What do you want?"

"Don't you want to know my name?" he asked, with that stupid smirk in his voice again. I wanted to hit him so _bad_!

"Not really." I muttered softly, but somehow he heard that.

"You sure?" he asked me, laughing now.

I looked back towards the town and started towards it as the rain started to come down harder.

"HEY LUCY!" he screamed at me once again. I whipped around to face the forest that I was about to escape from and screamed back,

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" I just wanted to leave, and this prick kept me here somehow. I just wanted to leave…

He laughed some more, but he didn't respond.

"What do you want?!" I asked once more, seriously thinking about just leaving, but I decided against that. Though, I don't know why.

"You positive you don't want to know my name?" he asked me again.

Did he really not get that I didn't care, or did he think I was doing this on purpose?

"I _really_ don't care. So can I freaking leave now?" I asked him.

"You don't _care?_" I felt him getting closer as his voice echoed throughout the woods and rain. I was soaking wet, and he had to be too, but he didn't seem to care. I sensed his presence getting closer and closer, but finally I got tired of waiting for hypothermia to kick in and turned around to walk out once more.

"LUCY!" he screamed again. I kept walking.

"LUCY!" he called out for me. I just kept walking.

"HEY LUCY!" he yelled _again._

"OH FOR EVERYTHING STUPID IN THIS WORLD, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" I finally cracked. I heard him laughing again. I wanted to _murder_ him! He continued to laugh as he said,

"You do know... we're just going in circles right?"

I looked around and shook my head. I had definitely been going straight towards the right.

"What are you talking about?" I finally asked trying to control my urge to assassinate him right then and there, and that stupid smirk that I have yet to actually see.

"I'm talking about our conversations," he responded as his voice was getting closer and closer. I just shook my head in exasperation and turned around to leave, _once again._

"Hey Lucy? Guess what?" he asked me, while chuckling quietly. What is wrong with this guy?

"Oh please bless me with this answer, so I must ask what?" I said under my breath with a mind full of sarcasm at the moment. He somehow heard that too.

"Well, if you insist," he told me, very close now. He was teasing me. It was that simple, and I absolutely refuse to stick around for anymore of this crap. I started to leave again as the rain continued to come down on us and soak us.

"My name is…" I heard him pause for a dramatic effect as I left as quickly as I could. I started to run as the rain started to increase, but I still heard him.

"It's Sting!" he told me. He continued on as he kept laughing softly.

"Just so you know, pesky Damsel in Distress."

I ignored him and continued to run from the rain, the forest, and him.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

I watched Lucy rush off with her hands above her head to try and block herself from the rain. Even though, I couldn't really see her very well, I just knew that she was beautiful. She was also very fun to tease. I continued to laugh at her responses as I headed back into the forest towards Sabertooth. I looked up and felt the rain come down drenching me. I smiled. I was very happy now because of that Lucy chick. She was…familiar though. I felt as if I have met her or seen her somewhere. I _know_ I've heard her voice, although I'm not sure where…where was she headed towards again? Oh yeah…_Magnolia_.

The place where that stupid guild Fairy Tail is. The guild that actually _beat_ us in the Grand Magic Games about a month ago.

I wonder if Lucy's heard of that guild before? She probably has since she does live there. Hmph. Why am I even thinking so much about that girl anyways?

Who wouldn't? She seemed to be amazing in her own way, and she really _was_ fun to tease. I laughed as I kept walking towards my guild. No doubt Lector would be freaking out about where I am right now. I didn't tell him where I was going, because when I left he was sleeping, and I respect that fact.

I was really hungry though, so maybe Rogue cooked something up for the both of us, but probably not…all I need right now is to eat, and quick.

I looked behind me to see where Lucy was headed and squinted as if I could try and see her, but the rain made it impossible.

Hmm…maybe I'll meet her again one day. I wouldn't mind teasing her, and actually seeing what she looks like. Yeah…it would be fun.

I smiled to myself and kept walking.

**_*Hi everyone! Thank you for reading! I love Sting/Lucy fan-fics although I'm not sure why… since they haven't really even spoken in the manga or anime…but who cares?! Oh and this is based after the Grand Magic Games, and umm…everything in the manga that's happened during the Grand Magic Games (you know…don't want to spoil it for newbies or only anime watchers…)hasn't happened, so yeah._**

**_Well don't forget to leave a lovely review and please follow or fave! And I'll try and make the chapter as little longer next time! Well keep reading! :D_**


	2. Unexpected Surprise

**2: Unexpected Surprise**

(Lucy's POV)

I wanted to die right then and there. I leaned over and put my hands on my knees to support myself as I breathed in and out, trying to regain consciousness.

I had just arrived right in time to pay my rent after running for what seemed to be like a week, but it was probably only a few minutes.

I may look, well amazing, but that doesn't "necessarily" mean I'm exactly _fit._ Well, who cares? I sure don't, _and_ I made it in time for my rent, so I'm actually quite happy right now. I looked around and opened my door to find myself face-to-face with my landlady. She looked over me and noticed me panting in short breaths. She didn't seem to really care as she growled,

"Rent?" I nodded and pulled out the money in my small purse and handed it to her. She counted it, as I supported myself against the wall trying not to die. When she finished counting, she opened the door for me to come in and I rushed inside.

...

After getting settled in upstairs and taking a shower, I sat down at my desk and stared at my manuscript.

What to write, what to write…hmmm. Maybe I could try this and-

"Hey Lucy!"

"AHHH!" I screamed in shock. I spun around and caught a handful of pink hair in my hand and said,

"NATSU?! Ughh…should have figured, I suppose, but _why _did you have to scare me half to death?!"

"Oww…Lucy. That hurts." Natsu whined as a flying, blue cat followed in after him through the window. I looked at the window and back at Natsu and said,

"_Why_ can't you use the door like a normal person, Natsu?" He just shrugged and responded with,

"I don't know. Your landlady scares me and, I don't know…I guess it's all of those _stairs_ that I would have _to walk_ on to get up here, and that's just so _complicated_." He said while sighing as he took over my chair. I just sighed in response and said,

"Whatever, just don't eat too much," My words trailed off as Happy brought in almost all of my food and set it down on Natsu's lap, "and of course…never mind me. I'm just the girl who puts up with you and feed you _and_-" Natsu cut me off.

"Hey Luce? Want to go on a mission tomorrow?"

"Ughh…_why?_" I said a little too rudely. He looked startled and mumbled,

"Idon'tknowIjustthoughtitwouldbeagoodidea…we _are_ partners."

I immediately regretted saying what I did and gave him my best sweet smile and agreed with his idea. He perked up immediately and Happy did too, because apparently he had also gone all depression-mode on me when I said my earlier rude words to Natsu.

Suddenly, Natsu stood up and said,

"Oh yeah…I have to leave! See you tomorrow! Meet at the guild, okay?" Before I could respond he jumped out of the window and was running away towards an unknown location. Hmm…he's so weird. I giggled and lied down on my bed with a book in my hand. I opened it up, but soon I was lost in the world of dreams.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

"Wake up." A voice said.

"Wake up, would you?" I groaned and smashed the pillow over my ears as the voice continued on. It was Lector.

"Please Sting-kun, wake up! Wake up before Minerva walks in! Wake UP!" He sounded desperate, but I did _not_ want to get up. I was so tired from last night.

"Sting-kun! Please? Minerva's really almost here, and you need to be awake this time! Don't you remember what happened _last time?_" He asked me adding an ominous tone to his last words. I immediately sprung up out of bed and stood up assessing the situation for what it was. I glanced down at Lector who had fallen off the bed due to my sudden jump out of bed.

"Wait…Lector. Did you just say that Minerva's almost here?" I asked. Lector nodded frantically, and pointed at the door.

"SHIT!" I practically screamed to the world. I scanned my room for anything that shouldn't be seen by _her_, and tried to clean up as much as possible in the short time that I had. I glanced at Lector again and asked,

"Is this an inspection or just Minerva being a bitch?" Lector opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly he looked terrified. Oh no…I turned around and found myself face-to-face with none other than the terrifying bitch herself. I am so dead…

"It's an inspection, _Sting."_ She told me coldly. I flinched and tried to look anywhere but her. How come it's _only _Minerva that terrifies the shit out of me? Not even the Master scares me this much, but with Minerva I feel completely helpless, and especially after _that_.

I agree that Fairy Tail is a completely useless guild, but when Minerva tortured that blonde chick from their guild, I started to laugh, but come on…what else was I supposed to do? It's not as if I'm a _nice_ guy. I don't even try that hard to be nice. Being nice doesn't make you strong. Fighting battles _just_ for your _friends_ like _Natsu _said is not what I believe in. I mean sure, I know that if you leave behind your comrades in a battle, then you're no higher than scum on my watch, but-

"Sting! Would you listen to what I am saying, you stupid brat?" Minerva said sharply. I focused my attention back onto her and asked,

"What?" I saw Lector in the corner of my eye back away after I said that. Wait…what? I focused back on…oh…_Minerva_…forgot she was here, and what? I knew she was here, but…now I'm confused.

Minerva looked pissed. I looked her over to see the same frightening, scary-as-hell, freaky pretty, and strong women standing there. I smirked, for reasons unknown to me. I have no idea what I'm actually doing here…

"Sting! Your room. Clean it up, _now_. Oh, and if I hear one more "bitch" remark about me, you'll be cleaning _all_ of the rooms in this place. Got it, Sting?" She left then, leaving me there to deal with the confusion that was still trying to process in my mind correctly. Lector looked at the door and back up at me finally saying,

"I hate her Sting-kun, but I also respect her, but of course…not like how I respect you! You are definitely the strongest in this guild, but I'm weak so I'm afraid of people like her, Sting-kun…but…you'll always be there for me, right Sting-kun?"

I noticed Lector look as if he was going to cry. I picked him up and said,

"Right." I gave him a real smile and he smiled back. I looked around my room and said, "Now let's clean this stupid place." He agreed and we got to work.

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

I was really grumpy. I'm not exactly sure why, but it could have to do with the fact that I dreamed about that guy, oh yeah…Sting, last night, which was _not _romantic, but very annoying since the entire time he was just screaming my name and laughing like he did that day a couple days ago.

I rubbed my head to try and ease this now present headache that was screaming and pounding in my head. I looked out my window and saw that it was cloudy; like that day…hmmm…maybe it'll rain again. I smiled to myself and immediately turned red. Wait! Why am I smiling about that fact? I hate the rain! Oh whatever…

I got up and after getting dressed and ready, I started towards Fairy Tail.

As I was walking and humming happily to myself, because I was in a much better mood all of a sudden, I started to really _think_. I was thinking about everything. My books, my dad, and as I was thinking I didn't notice myself start to think about Sting.

Sure, he was an annoying, arrogant bastard who couldn't give me a straight answer, but he had this _feel_ about him that I did somewhat like, which is strange. I didn't even _see_ him, but I assume he was at least somewhat good-looking, or I could _hope_ so, because…wait! No! Why am I even thinking about this?! I barely know the guy and he was irritating! Yes, that's it and that's all. I mean, it's not like I'll meet him again anytime soon, or at least I hope not. I shrugged and continued on.

...

When I finally arrived at my favorite guild in the whole world, Fairy Tail, I rushed inside fully pumped and ready for this mission that I had…

Sadly….

Let.

Natsu.

Pick.

I looked over the request once again and had to do three more double takes. Natsu was watching me with wide eyes as Happy was flying above him snickering to himself, not so quietly.

"You aren't _serious_, right?" I asked, afraid of the answer as I glanced down at the request again. I just couldn't…there's no way…

"It's really okay Lucy. You don't have to do it. We can just choose something else, if you really don't want to. I just thought…that maybe you'd want it because of the reward." Natsu said quickly. I looked back down at the request and re-read the reward. Natsu was right. It really _was_ a big reward. Almost a year's worth of rent, which I really needed, but the request was just so…outrageous and most of all, indecent! How could anyone expect this of anyone?!

However, if I did this then more than a few girls would be saved from this heinous act. I looked back up at Natsu and said,

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Natsu didn't budge as Happy yelled,

"Aye, Lucy!"

Instead Natsu just looked at me and narrowed his eyes. What was up with him being so observant recently? I chuckled nervously as he asked,

"Are you sure Luce? We really don't have to, and-"

"I'm sure. Now, let's just go, before I change my mind." I said quickly cutting him off.

He nodded and headed after me as I bounded out of the guild and on towards our next mission.

...

We arrived at the house a little earlier than expected, especially considering the fact that I thought it would have taken forever for Natsu to regain his sanity as we were exiting the train, but it seemed to me as if he got better just a little quicker. It was very strange.

I knocked on the door and almost instantly the door was opened to reveal a very tender looking women who looked to be in her early thirties. When she saw us, she gave us a huge smile and exclaimed,

"Oh! You must be from Fairy Tail! Well come in, come in!" She ushered us in and led us to a small and cozy looking living room for us to sit down in. Natsu glanced at me as I sat down on this very plump looking sofa-seat. The lady rushed out of the room leaving us there alone for a while, but soon enough she came back in holding a silver tray.

"Here you are dearie." She said while handing me a small pastry that was bright yellow. It looked really good as I picked one out and took a small bite. I almost gagged. It was completely awful, even if it _did _look really good. Natsu took a bite out of his and did not have enough courtesy to not gag so loudly, which he did. The lady looked at Natsu with worried eyes and asked,

"Are you alright dearie?" Natsu just tried to nod as he tried to swallow the pastry. The lady seemed to be really worried about him, so in order to divert the attention from Natsu, I asked,

"So…why exactly was _this_ your request?" The lady looked over at me and said,

"Oh well…you see…my sister has been forced into it and now she lives like _that_, and well I just couldn't bear it, so I contacted her." I nodded to show I was listening and she continued by saying, "My sister told me, oh and her name's Clara, anyways she told me that the man who ran the organization was actually a wizard who lures people in to try and you know…get the _satisfaction_. Oh and in order for the girls to actually do what he says, he threatens their families, he threatened me in my sister's case apparently, so they would do what they're told. It's been going on for _years_ apparently, so I finally sent in a request to a guild, Fairy Tail, to get rid of the man and let my sister come back to me." She stopped talking and looked for our reactions. Natsu looked pissed, and I assume I looked concerned. I looked back down at the request and back at the lady (who still has not told us her name), and finally said breaking the silence,

"Alright. I'll do it, oh," I looked at Natsu quickly and corrected, "I mean _we'll_ do it."

Natsu just nodded and Happy looked as if he were going to cry. I stood up and said my farewells to the lady and assured her we would get the job done. The entire time, Natsu was silent, which I'm not sure should be taken for a bad thing or a good thing.

I started down the street and towards a store that looked right. Natsu glanced up at it and then back at me narrowing his eyes.

"Why're we here?" I gave him a sharp glare and said,

"Well, what do you _think _one-night stand prostitutes wear?"

* * *

(Sting's POV- A few days later)

I already hate this job. I think Rogue hates this job too, and that was because-

"Ughhh…Iwannagetoffthisdamnthingalready!" I groaned. The train was moving _way_ too fast in my opinion, but no one seemed to care about how_ I_ felt, or Rogue. Lector just shot me a worried glance and Fro said,

"Fro thinks so too…Fro's worried about Rogue-kun." I saw her look at Rogue who was kneeling over on the seat trying not to hurl. I groaned and was praying for the train to stop anytime now…anytime now…anytime…

...

The train finally came to an abrupt stop with a lurch forward. I was instantly relieved and literally jumped out of the window to escape from that purgatory. Rogue followed soon after rubbing his head and muttering,

"Finally, we're off." I nodded agreeing with him and stood there blinking in the light.

When we regained ourselves, we started to walk around looking for the place.

We arrived at a small café, and entered it looking for the man we were supposed to meet here. He was going to be wearing a green jacket and oh…found him. He was sitting by the windows sipping on a coffee. He perked up when he noticed us walk in and ushered us over to him.

Rogue, Fro, Lector, and I all sat across from him and I asked,

"Where's the thing you want us to deliver?" He looked behind him obviously paranoid. I just sighed and put my hand out expecting to receive. He looked at me and then reached into his jacket to pull out a small brown package and hand it to me. I wrapped my fingers around it and asked in a bored tone,

"So, you want us to take this just across town and give it to a young lady who'll be waiting at the fountain at exactly four o'clock, right?" He nodded frantically and I asked, "Why can't you just do this yourself again?" Rogue gave me a sharp look and the man told me, "No, no, no, no, no…not safe. Too _dangerous_. People watch." I wanted to burst out laughing at how scared the man was, but decided with a sigh. I stood up and said,

"Come on guys. Let's just do this already."

We walked out and Rogue finally said,

"Sting, it's only twelve. What are you going to do for four hours?" I looked at him and asked, "What do you mean, what am _I _going to do for four hours? What about you?" He shook his head and said, "I'm going to the library. I see no point on wasting energy walking around." He looked down at Fro and said, "Let's go Fro."

Then...

He left me in a place…

That I have never been to before…

To go…

To a _library!_

I just stared at them as they walked away from me and then looked down at Lector,

"Let's go Lector. Let's just walk around or something. Maybe we can get something to eat." I muttered.

"Good idea Sting-kun!" Lector told me.

...

Okay. I was _officially_ bored. I have literally walked around this town at least five times in only thirty minutes, and I've found absolutely _nothing_ to do.

"Arghh…let's do something Lector." I said as we were walking alongside the street.

"Like what?" He asked.

"I dunno, maybe we can go start a fight or something." I said, shrugging.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea Sting-kun…" Lector told me.

"And why not? Think I'm going to lose?" I asked him.

"No! No! You know I think you're the strongest person alive! I just don't think anyone in this town is even worth your _time_ to fight. That's all." He said.

"I don't care! I'm bored and-" Someone ran into me.

"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! I didn't see you there!" A pale girl about my age with short brown hair told me while giggling.

"Well obviously." I muttered, annoyed.

"Hehe…well I can make it up to you. Would you like that?" She told me while twirling her hair in her fingers. She annoyed me, but I'll play along. I leaned in right in front of her face and asked seductively,

"How so little missy?"

She giggled wildly and said,

"Well…come with me." She grabbed my arm and started to pull on it, but I pulled back and exclaimed, "Hey! Stupid brat let go of me, would ya?!" She just giggled and looked back at me and whispered,

"Just come on. I need to make it up to you…"

My whole body felt fuzzy and tingly as I nodded slowly and let her pull me along. I heard Lector calling after me, but I wasn't making out what he was saying. I could only focus on this girl and her words…

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

"We have a customer!" Marise yelled while opening the doors to reveal none other than a very dazed looking blonde haired guy. I couldn't get a good look at him because he was instantly surrounded by all of the girls here. I sighed sadly as I looked around me. I hated this place as soon as I had stepped into it a few days ago.

I remember how I walked in as confidently as I could and actually said that I _wanted_ to become a hooker. They looked at me and agreed finally branding me as a whore. It was _so_ embarrassing, but thankfully no one I couldn't handle has requested me, and I always made them think that they fell asleep before doing anything, instead of reality which was actually me knocking them out. It was so easy, but every time I was requested I just felt so…dirty. I felt tainted even though I haven't actually done _anything_. It was just so wrong. I put my hand to my forehead and walked out to greet the customer.

As I pushed myself through the crowd of girls, I became face-to-face with none other than _Sting Eucliffe from Sabertooth. _So many thoughts were spinning in my head as he just stood there looking completely dazed. I didn't know how to react. This was the guy who was completely…_evil!_ Well, actually I've never really even met him, but Natsu really hates him, so that must be some indication of his personality.

I looked him over and didn't really notice any major changes from The Grand Magic Games…it _has_ only been a month, after all.

What was I supposed to do? I did _not_ want him to request me, because I _know _that I cannot "handle" him so easily. He almost defeated _Natsu_, for Christ's sake. He was…_strong_, so if he does request me…I'm doomed. I'll become tainted and ruined before I'm even married! I wanted to cry!

Calm down, Lucy. There are much more attractive and sexy girls in here than you...I looked around. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I'm one of the prettiest in here, and usually that's a good thing, but not now it isn't…not now… I zoned back in.

"So you sure are cute now aren't you Mister?" Lucille said in a hushed tone.

"I agree. Now how about taking your pick and have, well a _great_ night with them? We have plenty of girls who are free tonight." The manager, Carissa told him. He looked around as if he was confused and spotted me.

"You…what…" He said, but Carissa intervened and said,

"You want Lucy?" He gave no reply, which she took for a yes as she looked over at me and said, "You heard him Lucy dear. You're requested. So make sure he has a _good_ night, understand?"

I was frozen from shock and fear. Oh no…what just happened? My body moved forward to take Sting towards one of the back rooms and led him. I don't even know what I'm doing right now. Why did I agree to this? I could've said no…why didn't I just say no…? I started to tear up as I opened the door to the room and led him in. Then, I turned around to face a so-called enemy.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

The girl was crying. Why was she crying? She was so obviously trying to hide her tears, but come on…they were practically _streaming_ down her face. So finally I said,

"So…umm…do you want to sit down or something?" She just looked at me and started to cry harder. Geez, all I did was ask her something…oh that reminded me.

"So…aren't you that girl from Fairy Tail?" I asked kind of awkwardly. She _was_ just standing there crying after all. Finally she sniffed and said,

"Oh, is _that_ your reason for doing this? To make fun of me? To try and shame me and my guild? Just how evil are you?" I was shocked. Why did she remind me of someone…no not someone…that girl…from the forest…what? Wait, why was she _blaming_ me for this?

"Actually," I started after an abrupt silence, "I don't even know why I'm here. Some girl knocked into me and forced me to come here, but I don't remember why I let her…wait…just _where_ exactly am I?" I said, confused, as this realization dawned on me. I looked around at my surroundings and saw nothing familiar. The girl looked completely surprised for a second and then she looked completely understanding as what looked like an epiphany dawned on her.

"Wait a second…_oh_…okay…that makes some sense, I guess…" She said muttering to herself, I assume, because I had no idea what she was talking about.

"So, where am I?" I finally asked again. She looked up at me startled, as if she had forgotten that I was even there. Then, she started to laugh, and I mean seriously laugh. She looked completely relieved as she looked me over and started to crack up once more. Finally, between her chortles of crazy, she gasped,

"Oh…I'm sorry…it's just that, I was so worried…and it was all for nothing!" She continued to laugh, as I stood there completely stupefied.

So there I was, watching this strange Fairy laugh her ass off as if I were the funniest thing in the world, and I had to admit…it was _really_ funny to watch her fall down on her knees (still laughing) and pound her fists on the ground while clutching her stomach. She was _really_ laughing all right… it was kind of weird. So after a while, I started to laugh too, which led to her snapping her head up in shock and stop laughing. I stopped laughing too.

Then, she stood up and practically glared at me for existing, it seemed like. I just stared back at her, when she finally said,

"So, you're Sting right? From _Sabertooth_?" She said the word bitterly. I smirked and said, "What's it to you Fairy? The Grand Magic Games are over, so no need to be so hasty. In fact…you're lucky that I'm not killing you right now." That caught her attention. She looked startled and whisper-asked,

"What did you just say?"

"I _said_, the Grand Magic Games are over and-" She cut me off annoyed and said,

"No, no, no. _After _that."

I just looked at her and smiled and told her,

"I was going to continue to say that I said that _you_ young miss should be lucky that I'm killing you right now for insulting me." Her eyes widened and I could almost see thoughts running through her eyes as she continued to study me. Finally she spoke up and asked,

"What about…_naps_?" Her words were hesitant, almost hopeful. My eyes widened too and my smirk grew more pronounced. There was no way, but I still said,

"_Lucy?"_

**_*Oooh…they meet face-to-face and now actually somewhat know each other! What's going to happen…? LOL. Well, I need to thank you all for the very sweet reviews you guys left me and thank you for following and fave-ing this story! I'm also very sorry about the lateness of this chapter…I was planning on writing it earlier on in the weekend, but I remembered…my mom was getting married in the middle of nowhere! So, I have literally just come back to electricity and now…I am relishing in it. I have to thank you again, because awww I just love you! So keep reading to see what happens next! :D_**


	3. Miss Damsel in Distress

**3: Miss Damsel in Distress**

(Lucy's POV)

"Holy shit…" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I saw Sting smirk at me, all cocky and annoying. Well, now that I've seen that stupid smirk of his, now I just wanted to smack it off, and show him who's smirking now.

I continued to gawk at him, and he continued to show me that smirk.

"I officially hate that now." I said, completely out of the blue. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean Miss _still _Damsel in Distress." He glanced around to indicate the situation that I was in. I gritted my teeth in annoyance.

"That smirk! I _hate_ it!" I screamed at him, so very annoyed and so very pissed. Geez…my emotions are just running wild.

He just continued to give me that smirk, which was growing larger from every word. He glanced over me and just stood there, studying me. Finally, he lifted his gaze and said,

"I was right. You _are_ hot, but I never expected that I would meet you in a place like this, especially a _Fairy_. Wait, no…I also mean that I didn't expect the girl who woke me up would be a _Fairy_, and especially with that attitude of yours. Aren't all you Fairies supposed to be _angels_ who _take care_ of your friends and _fight_ for you friends and blah blah _blah_…?" He trailed off, annoyed. Before I could respond he said, "You. Annoy me."

Huh?

Did this jackass really just tell me that to my face? I laughed abruptly.

"That is _exactly_ my thoughts about you. At least we agree on something."

"Agree? Oh no, no, no missy. More like have similar feelings. Yeah. I don't want to be taken as someone who would actually _agree_ with a Fairy like you. Weak in skill, but okay in mind."

I continued to gawk at him and he laughed derisively. Then…I did it.

I slapped him.

_Hard_ too.

Right on that huge ego of his as well.

Ehh...

He had it coming.

He stared at me in shock for a second or two before saying,

"Well…that was unexpected."

Ha. Who's the one gawking now you ass?

"I didn't think a Fairy had it in them." He told me. I glared at him, pissed off.

"I didn't think someone could have such a huge ego like yours, _especially_ after _losing_ to what they claim is weak." I said back, playing _that_ card. He deserves it, and it sure as hell surprised him even more, because he was speechless for a second before quickly changing the subject.

"What are you even doing here…Miss Fairy Lucy?" He asked me, glancing around. I looked away from him and refused to acknowledge his question. He noticed that and said,

"You know…I could help you."

What?

* * *

(Sting's POV)

What the fuck? Did I just offer my help for this now very irritating Fairy?

I couldn't stop the words though. They had just slipped from my mouth before I knew it. She looked taken aback. Yeah Miss Lucy. It's your turn now.

"I don't need help from _you _Sabertooth." She finally said.

I smirked…just for her and said,

"Well who's going to help you if I don't?"

Yeah take that fact. Who _was_ going to help her? She seemed to be going solo on this mission, like last time. I focused back on Lucy to see her look _very _mad.

"No. I am _not_ doing this solo, if that's even your business." She said.

I had to admit…I was surprised, and my eyebrows furrowed in response. Who was with her, then? _Natsu?_ Yeah, he did seem pretty close to her during the Games, but I didn't really know so I just shrugged. What's it to me anyways? I don't give a damn about this girl and even if I _was_ somewhat _attracted_ to her doesn't mean I'm going to give in to the likes of a fucking _Fairy._

Lucy, however, noticed my shrug and my silence and became very quiet.

Good.

She was annoying me anyways, even if she was a little amusing to talk to…

She spoke up and said,

"Well…this was obviously all an accident. So…could you leave please?" Her voice was laced with something more than just pleading, it was really hopeful too. She was still worried about _that_. It was pretty fucking funny, so I decided to play around. I leaned in and whispered,

"Oh no Miss Lucy. I intend to have my share of pleasures with you even if you _are_ a Fairy. You do have a hot body, after all."

She went completely frigid and covered her chest unconsciously. She actually looked scared as she backed away slowly and told me shakily,

"Look Sting. I'm sorry about what I said, but even if I am a _Fairy_, I think you should leave. I don't want to do anything remotely like _that_ until well after I'm married, so could you _please_ leave? _Please?_" Her voice was pleading and her brown eyes were wide and fearful.

She was actually really terrified.

Where was that smart mouth from before?

Why was she apologizing?

Why did I care?

These questions ran through my mind when I finally said,

"Don't say you're sorry. I know you aren't so don't say it. You're just lying, now."

I could practically see the emotions flit across her face. Surprise, worry, anxiety, curiosity, and then she finally settled on doubt.

"What?" She asked, breaking into my thoughts.

"Just don't. Okay? I'll leave. I was just kidding around. I don't want to do it with someone like you anyways." I told her, quickly. She frowned and replied with,

"Well good. No one wants to do it with you either."

There we go.

She's back.

_Why _do I care?!

I shook my head as if trying to shake the thoughts from my head, but they stayed.

Damn traitorous thoughts. Damn it. Lucy just raised her eyebrows, but remained impassive as I turned to leave.

Right before I was about to leave she called out,

"You know…you're really not _that_ bad, Sting." Her voice said otherwise, but I turned around, gave her a smirk and said,

"Don't count on it Miss Damsel in Distress. I'm not good either."

I turned around again to leave, but before I shut the door I glanced at her and I swear I saw it.

A real smile.

A rarity.

I smiled.

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

I smiled at Sting as he shut the door. He couldn't see me, so why did it matter?

Well, that conversation was certainly…interesting if anything, even if he did piss me off to the ends of Hell itself. Although, I couldn't help but notice one thing when I finally got to see him up close and that was…

He was _really _cute!

Yes. These are my traitorous thoughts.

However, now I was open again for request and I still need finish my job request! Yeah, sometimes Natsu came by as a "visitor" and then we would talk about how things were doing. Usually he told me lame information like he noticed something off about Carissa, our manager, which I'd usually respond with,

"Yeah. She's weird."

I, however, was as just as unsuccessful as him.

I have literally asked everyone here about Clara, but they all claimed that they didn't know a Clara, which they are so obviously lying about. So, for the past few days, I was doing nothing but searching and asking, but still…nothing! Even when I was asked to be that girl who would lure the men inside, I couldn't find out _anything!_ It was damn frustrating, all right, but I couldn't just _leave._ In fact, I have told Natsu to go and ask more about Clara from that woman, hmmm…I never got her name, but he still hasn't returned and I admit…I was worried. It's been two days now, and he still hasn't returned to tell me any news, and I know he hasn't abandoned me so…I was deeply concerned. I sighed and rubbed my temple trying to cure this ache that was pounding in my head. I'm just going to have to deal with it…

* * *

(Sting's POV)

It was around three-thirty, and I still couldn't find Lector. Where was he? I have searched everywhere, and I had to be at the fountain in now less than thirty minutes! I had seen Rogue in the library reading some stupid book on the history of magic, but when I asked him if he had seen Lector anywhere he had just responded with,

"You do realize that Lector is not something to be _lost_, right?" And then he went back to his stupid book as Fro nodded besides him, looking up at me. That made me almost as annoyed as I was with that stupid Fairy girl…_Lucy._

Why was I thinking about her so much anyways? She's a weak blonde-haired spoiled brat who thinks she's a princess!

Okay…maybe I was exaggerating a little, but it's not like anyone cares anyways.

I continued to walk down the street until it was _me_ who ran into someone.

The lady looked to be in her early thirties and she had dark black hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looked surprised and said,

"Oh! Watch yourself dearie. Wouldn't want to get hurt, now would we?"

Dearie?

What the fuck?

"Umm…yeah sorry. Well bye." I said, annoyed over the whole "dearie" thing. Who does she think she is by calling me "_dearie_"? However, before I could leave she grabbed my by my arm and pulled me back.

"You seem familiar dearie…have I met you before?" She asked me using that stupid nickname again. I glared and looked over her.

Yeah. I have never seen this lady in my life. I just shook my head and said,

"Let go of me!"

She didn't let go, but instead looked into my eyes trying to assess the familiarity that she apparently felt from me. Then her eyes brightened with what looked like realization and she said,

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Yes! I got it now! You're like a _mix_ of two people that I have met quite recently. Yes you are, yes you are…" I was _very_ mad right now, and I'm not sure if it was because she was still holding on to me or if it was because she was _comparing_ me to two people. I tried to shake the lady off of my arm, but I swear it's as if she had a death hold on me.

"Yes, yes, yes. You are like _them_. Those foolish mages that I sent _there._" She laughed suddenly, and let go of me, leaving me standing there confused.

What?

Mages?

Sent _there?_

Foolish?

It's as if my mind suddenly caught up with reality and I was about to call out for the lady, but…she had disappeared. My mind reeled and I glanced to see what time it was.

Shit!

It was almost four and I wasn't even near the fountain yet! I had to go!

I turned and started to rush through the small crowds on the street to try and make my way towards the fountain, but I couldn't help the unwelcome thoughts that entered my mind.

Was something going to happen to Lucy?

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

"Lucy!" Carissa said, coming in suddenly. "What happened? The man left so quickly…?" She raised her eyebrows in confusion and waited for my response.

"Umm yeah. I don't know either. He was getting so into it and then he just…left." I left the word hanging unsure of what to do. Carissa furrowed her brows and said, "Hmm…interesting. Maybe the ways are wearing off." She started to leave and then turned back around and said,

"Well what are you still doing in here? Get out there and make yourself look sexy for the next customers! Come on! Come on!" She ushered me out while waving her hands in a displeased manner. I was pushed out the door and back into the main room with all of the other girls, who I'm pretty sure hated me.

They all just glared at me and then went back to their previous lives of gossiping and fixing their hair/make-up.

Bitches.

I settled down on one of the seats and started to do my dose of thinking, which were usually just a bunch of random questions to myself.

Where was Clara?

How come Natsu wasn't back yet?

How come none of the girls here tell me they don't know who Clara is?

Why is Sting even in the town?

Whoa! Why was I thinking about Sting now? I have much more pressing matters at hand, but I was thinking about that annoying jackass? That doesn't even make any sense! She shook her head violently trying to shake the thoughts away.

"Hey Lucy…why are you blushing girl?" Samantha, the only girl who likes me, asked suddenly. That made me blush even harder and Samantha smirked guessing why Lucy was turning into a tomato. Samantha shook her head, still smirking and walked off to talk to Carissa. I looked at her walk away. Was I really blushing? Hmpf.

"Lucy!" Carissa called out to me suddenly. I stood up abruptly, almost knocking the chair over and stalked over towards her.

"Yeah Carissa?"

"Samantha just told me something very interesting."

Oh thanks Samantha. I could only imagine what she said.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"Are you blushing over a _guy?_ If you are then stop it immediately. You know we don't allow the girls here to get infatuated with a man, because it affects her duties." Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. She said the same thing about Natsu too, so she obviously has no idea what she's talking about.

"No, I wasn't. I was just thinking about something embarrassing. That's it." I told her, trying to keep myself from laughing out loud.

"Okay…" Carissa told me, not believing me for a second. I just shrugged and walked away to get back to my boring _duties_.

I just wanted to leave this place once and for all and never come back, but _where_ was Natsu? Where was _he?_

* * *

(Sting's POV)

When I finally got to the fountain I noticed Rogue, Fro, and…Lector were already there obviously waiting. Lector looked up and exclaimed,

"Sting-kun! I knew I would find you! Well, you find me…but I wasn't very worried earlier, but then you left me behind and then I was…"

I grimaced, recalling the earlier events, which just reminded me of Lucy. I wouldn't admit it to anyone, but I had this nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen to that brat soon, and it was bothering me deeply. I wouldn't let on though. I glanced around looking for the woman, not seeing anybody even remotely close.

"So, where's this chick we're supposed to meet?" I asked.

"It seems she hasn't arrived yet, so we were waiting for you and the lady. I suppose now we're waiting for the woman now." Rogue stated.

"Well you dearies won't have to wait any longer!" A voice, that seemed awfully familiar and annoying exclaimed loudly. I spun around and found myself face-to-face with that woman from before who kept calling me dearie, and the one who suggested that thing that's has been nagging in my mind for the past twenty minutes. So, before I realized I said,

"What's gonna happen to Lucy?"

I took her by surprise. She tilted her head slightly and said,

"Oh look! It's you again dearie. Yes, yes, wait how do you know about that mage?" She was really curious, and I was furious.

I was right. It was this lady who sent her _there_…_wait…why_ did I _care _so much?

Also, it was seriously pissing me off that she kept calling me by that stupid pet name. I mean, what the _fuck?_

Before I could react, Rogue broke in.

"We have your package Miss…?" He said. The woman laughed, just pissing me off more. I was seething and I wasn't sure why. I was just _pissed_.

"I suppose you may call me…hmm…_Clara._" She laughed some more and muttered, "It's a personal joke…ha-ha…"

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to control this uncontrollable anger that was deep inside me. What was I doing? Why was I freaking out so much? Why can't I just do this fucking job and get it over with? _WHY?!_

"I'm no one of great importance, just the lady who's here to receive the package that you dearies possess. That's all."

This lady. Was. Pissing. Me. Off. I was about to lurch forward, but Rogue who had sensed my intentions held me back and reached into my pocket to grab the package. He handed it towards Clara and apologized softly. Clara just laughed it off and bounded off, while humming to herself quietly.

"What has gotten into you Sting?" Rogue asked me in a dangerously low tone. Lector and Fro nodded at Rogue's question, but I could barely focus on them. That lady was definitely up to something and it somehow involved Lucy, and before I really realized what I was doing I was running back towards where I had just came from with only one person on my mind. _LUCY!_

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

My mind felt fuzzy, and I felt as if I would throw up. What is this? One moment I had been just sitting here thinking and now I could dimly see all of the girls passing out from something. Was I passing out too? Is this what was happening? Why was this so sudden? I didn't understand what was happening, but I knew I had to close my eyes because if I didn't then…then…blonde hair? What…?

0.0

"GODDAMNIT LUCY! WAKE UP!" Someone was yelling at me, and it was hurting my ears. My hands flew up to my ears to protect myself and I heard myself groan loudly.

Where was I?

"Oh dear Jesus would you _shut up_? I'm trying to sleep here!" I finally said as the screaming continued.

Laughter.

"Well isn't that just the case of reverse deja vu?" It was that annoying, cocky voice again. What? _Sting?!_ My eyes flew open in shock and I found myself staring at dark, blue eyes. Yup. It was the annoying bastard, but why was he here? What the hell happened?! I sat up suddenly causing him to stumble backwards.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, my voice sharp. He put up his hands in defense and then rubbed his head.

"I'm pretty sure it was that fucking, annoying lady, but I'm not sure." Sting said, making no sense whatsoever.

"What lady? What happened? Where the hell am I? What _happened, Sting?_" He shrugged, apparently not giving a shit and said,

"I already told you. I don't _know_. When I arrived it was empty and all I found was you behind a sofa…so…ready for this? I _saved_ you."

"You _saved _me?" I asked in disbelief. He gave me that annoying-bastard smirk of his and said,

"I sure did Miss Damsel in Distress."

"_Why?_" I asked, my voice still full of disbelief.

"Beats me Fairy. No one else showed up so that means that I am your savior and you are my slave from now on." He told me, _still_ smirking! I gave him a sharp glare and growled,

"Oh just fuck off," He raised his eyebrows and I continued, "and thank you know…for saving me, but why I needed to be _saved_ still remains unclear."

He just gave me a completely I-just-saved-you-and-you-are-amusing-smile and said, "What I'm curious about is what about Natsu? He _is_ the one who came along with you on this mission, right? The lady said it was two, so I just figured…but well now where is _he?_'"

I shook my head and hissed,

"I _don't know!_ He hasn't returned in a while and I'm worried, not that you actually give a shit." I was angry that he just reminded me of yet another thing that I've been worrying about. He chuckled.

"Do you _want_ me to give you shit? I could make it warm if you like." Sting said.

What. The. Fuck?

I shot him a glare and just shook my head slowly. Then, I looked around and saw I was near a bookstore and a small café. We were on a bench in the street and I looked to be in the same town. Hmm. I stood up and started back to where I was. I had to do _something_, and right now it was to investigate. Sting seemed startled by my sudden change of pace and followed after me calling out,

"Where the hell are you going? You can barely walk!" He was right. I did feel really dizzy, but right now I had to figure out what was going on and where that flame-brain was. These are my two biggest concerns right now, _not_ Sting.

"Well what do you _think _I'm doing? I'm looking around for clues, dumbass."

"I am _not _a dumbass, you Fairy brat." He defended. Since when does he defend?

"Well you're certainly a _jackass_ if that makes you feel any better." I retorted.

"Can't really argue with that fact." Sting responded, looking away. I just ignored him and continued to walk on. He kept following me, and finally I spun around to face him and growl,

"If you're coming along then you're helping me look. Got that you jerk?"

He smirked.

I glared.

Then he said,

"Whatever. I do have to be your all mighty savior Miss Damsel in Distress."

"Stop calling me that!" I screeched.

He just laughed.

_Why_ did I even ask him again?

**_*Alloh! How's it going mannnn? Hehe…yeah I didn't really like this chapter all that much, but it needed to be written in order from my story to continue…hmpf (I love using Hmpf if you haven't noticed yet :D)! Actually, I'm making Sting a lot meaner cuz when I re-read my other chapters I was just like "Hmmm...no." oh and if you noticed there is more cussing so if you don't like cussing then I'm sorry 0.0...:O. Well leave a beautiful review and keep following! And thank you so much! Love ya!:D_**


	4. Jealousy and Tolerance

**4: Jealously and Tolerance.  
**

(Lucy's POV)

We had been walking for a while with Sting snickering behind me every once in a while, practically every time I took a step. Finally, my annoyance overcame me and I spun around to glare at him and ask,

"_What…_is _wrong_ with you?!"

Why did he annoy me so much? Not even Natsu annoyed me this much, and that's saying something. I glared at him, as he snickered some more and then said,

"So…do you even _know_ where we're going?" His voice filled with doubt.

"Of course I know where I'm going!" I snapped at him and he raised his arms in defense as if he was scared of me, but he continued to chuckle oh-so-softly. I looked around to try and find some sort of recognition, but he was right. I had no idea where I am. The only place I had been was that _place_, and that woman's house, who appointed us in the first place, but I would rather be tortured in the burning pits of _Hell_ than admit to him that he was right.

However, after about thirty minutes of us walking together and him sometimes musing out loud crap like,

"Hmm…look at the cloud over there. That _must_ be a clue, right?" or

"You know Lucy, you have a _nice_ ass." Which caused,

"Damnit Lucy! You're feisty too! I like a woman who can hit well."

All the while I'm either shooting daggers as I glanced over my shoulder at him or trying to find Natsu, but it was the latter that I was horribly lacking in. I still did not see _any_ sign of him_ anywhere!_ I groaned loudly and quickly shut myself up when I remembered the Sting was still behind me, probably smirking that stupid smirk that he does oh-so-well. Damn him and damn that smirk. I glanced around and sighed.

"You, dear Lucy, are _so_ lost." He finally said, after a short silence.

I slapped him.

_Again._

But...I just couldn't help myself. He pissed me off _so much!_

He just grinned that lazy smile of his, while clutching his cheek. However, after a quick scan his grin transformed into a tight frown mixed with worry? Anxiety? I don't know. I couldn't place it, but either way he said,

"Man. You really_ are _worried, aren't you? And I know it's not just because you're lost. Is it Natsu?" His last words froze me right in my tracks as I looked at him, open-mouthed. He saw my expression and took it as a yes, because he continued on.

"You know, if you're in love with him, then you should just tell him. I mean, you so obviously _are_, since you're so worried about him," He said with some sort of emotion spread across his face. My eyes widened. Me? In love with _Natsu?_ A smile crept over my face and I laughed suddenly, taking Sting by surprise.

"What's so funny?" He asked, snapping at me. That made me laugh a little harder, but I stopped. There was _no way_ I was going to have another laughing fit in front of him. One time is bad enough. He just stood there with his arms crossed, as he continued to examine me with raised eyebrows and disheveled hair.

"No." I said, finally. He continued to stand there obviously expecting me to continue on with my short answer, so I did.

"I do _not_ love Natsu. He's just a really good friend. My best friend, actually." I told him, musing to myself on the last part.

He obviously didn't believe me as he practically _hissed_,

"_Sure."_

What was _that?_

That tone of voice...why does it remind me of Juvia when she's talking to me? Hmm. I just shrugged to myself and partially annoyed, responded with,

"Why? You jealous that you don't have friends?" I didn't mean to say the words, but they just slipped out before I could stop them . I felt the air turn cold as he glared silently at me, fuming annoyed rage. His mouth was pursed into a thin line as he said slowly,

"I _do_ have friends Lucy. Apparently, not friends like _yours_ though. Why do they receive so much attention from you anyw-" He cut off, and deadpanned. His breathing stopped and he looked absolutely stricken as he looked away from me harshly. I tilted my head confused at his sudden change of mood, but before I could question him further he said,

"Let's just hurry up and find that friend of yours, and maybe then I can kick someone's ass." He said it with such a ferocious tone, I could not help but flinch. I was too stunned into silence to make a comment and numbly gave a silent nod. What was with him...?

I shook my head violently trying to push those thoughts out of my head. I had to worry about Natsu, and I had to worry about Clara. _Not_ Sting. So, as he started to strut away I just followed him, not making a sound.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

What the _hell_ was wrong with me?

These were my only thoughts as I was walking away, not even aware of where I was going. I could sense Lucy following behind me, but she just stayed silent. _Good. _

I didn't want to hear her ramble on anyways. _Especially_, if it was going to be about _Natsu._

I growled to myself.

_What was wrong with me?!_

I was actually having a pretty decent time with the pretty blonde! It was fun teasing her and seeing her reactions, especially her violent reactions where she would hit me. Yeah, it hurt, but who didn't like a girl with a violent personality. I thought. Well, I do, but that's besides the point. I rolled my eyes, but my attention veered back into what pissed me off. Why did I get so pissed off after I asked her about Natsu? Why the _fuck_ did I even _ask_ her about Natsu?! My eyes drifted upwards to look at the sky, and I stopped in my tracks. Why, I'm not sure why, but I do know that Lucy slammed right into me.

"What...? _Oww! _Watch where you're going jackass!" She exclaimed reverting back to her old self. I grinned in spite of myself, even if I was still pissed. I turned around to face her and she pushed herself off of me, huffing to herself in annoyance.

I looked her over again, and couldn't help but admire that nice body that she so proudly walked around in and-

"Pervert!" She screamed at me, causing some people around us to look at us strangely. She hit me on the shoulder, and her eyes fumed.

"What are you talking about?!" I yelled right back at her, but not rudely, just mockingly. She was right after all...

She hit me again and said,

"I _saw_ you jackass! You and those eyes of yours roaming up and down all over my body and..._I can just tell!" _Her words were high-pitched and loud, but I just brushed off my arm as if trying to brush away the pain and muttered,

"Geez. What the fuck gives you the right to hit me all of the time, Blondie?"

"_You're blond too!"_ She screamed at me, but not with as much force... and then I realized. She was acting like this for _me_. She was trying to make it less awkward between us two and trying to lighten my mood from being pissed off to well... _me._ Although, why she was doing it and _actually_ accomplishing it by hitting me was beyond me, but I gave her a small smile and said,

"Thanks Blondie." She just crossed her arms and looked away.

"Just make sure you warn me before you stop so suddenly." She huffed, but I saw her sneak a quick glance at me from the corner of her eyes, as if to confirm I wasn't _too _pissed anymore. My lips tugged upward, and hers did too in response. However, the moment was short-lived when she perked up and cried out,

"Ohmygosh! We can't waste time here talking about _our _hair color and smiling like idiots! We have to figure out what the hell is going on!" It was so sudden that it confused me at first. Oh yes. _Natsu. Great._ My sour mood was back, although the reasons remained a mystery, but I nodded.

"Yeah, guess you're right Miss Damsel in Distress."

"I already told you to _stop_ calling me that! Also, I'm not even _in _distress right now! So what gives you that right?!" She demanded. I just shrugged and took her arm muttering for her to shut up and figure out where we were going already, but...

I quickly let go and looked at her.

Of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner?!

_Rogue!_

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

I looked at Sting as what looked like an epiphany dawned over him. He had just let go of my arm after his sudden grab, but now it was limply hanging down my side. I could see gears turning in Sting's eyes, as he continued with his epiphany. This was weird. Sting was _thinking?_ It was almost as weird as the thought of Natsu becoming a vegetarian. My dry humor caused me to snicker silently, but Sting snapped out of his revelation to give me a weak glare. He grabbed my arm, _again_, and started to pull me along. He seemed to know exactly where he was going as he continued to drag me along, which made me a little irritated. So, _that's_ how he knew I didn't know where I was going! It was because _he did_, which he so obviously _did not tell me._ I gritted my teeth, but allowed him to continue to pull me along like a little puppy.

"Where are you dragging me off to?" I finally asked, sighing in exasperation. He looked over his shoulder at me as his blonde hair moved with him, causing it to become even _messier._

"Where do you think?" He asked me, all cocky and annoying. I gritted my teeth harder.

"I don't _know! _That's_ why _I'm asking you!" I muttered, annoyed. I was always annoyed with him...I guess I should've already gotten used to it...but it's just that..._he was so annoying!_ He just shook his head and kept pulling at me, nearly causing me to stumble at least more than once. I tried again, but more cool and nonchalant this time...

"So Sting..." I started. My voice sounded like I was trying _too hard_ to be nonchalant, because he turned around and smirked at me. I suppressed a punch, and instead said,

"...where are we headed?" My voice gave it all away, and he just stood there taking in my stupidity and snickered loudly. I felt my cheeks heat up, but I remained standing tall. Why was I so embarrassed anyways? It was just Sting. The annoying, arrogant, cocky, not-funny-at-all, couldn't-give-a-straight-answer, blonde-haired, pretty cute, ripped, and _hot_ guy- whoa, whoa, whoa Lucy. Where are you heading with these thoughts? My blush deepened swearing to myself that if he was a mind reader then to kill me now. Why was I focusing on such trivial matters anyways. There was some _serious _shit that was going on right now, so that means that I _absolutely cannot_ stand here thinking about Sting's toned muscles. That just won't work. I freaking hated this guy! Ughh...I put my head in my hands, embarrassed by my perverted thoughts and embarrassed that I was going off track of what _was_ important for _Sting. _I was perfectly aware that Sting was watching me the entire time, but right now...I don't give a monkey's ass about that.

"Come _on_ Miss Violent Princess, we have to meet up with someone who doesn't know we're meeting up with him. So don't be all, '_I'm going to be so exasperated and dramatic in the middle of road even though we're in a hurry'." _He wrinkled his nose at me and I fumed at his impression of my voice.

"I am _NOT_ that high-pitched JACKASS!" I yelled at him, but I stopped suddenly.

"Wait," I started, "we're meeting up with someone? _Who?"_ I asked, realizing what he just said. Then,

"And _how _was _I _supposed to know that we were supposedly in a _hurry?!_" I said, nice and haughtily.

He remained quiet for a short moment after that, waiting for any more comments from me, but for now...I was done, I suppose. When he realized I _was_ done, he said,

"For your first comment, you sometimes _do_ hit that decibel. For your second statement/question, yes we are meeting up with someone, _if _I can find him, and to also answer your third question, it's Rogue. Oh and for your final and fourth question, you didn't...I just wanted to annoy you." He told me, with a crooked grin plastered on his face. I _so_ badly wanted to hit him, but instead I managed to squeak out,

"Rogue? You mean Rogue as in your..._friend?__" _I asked, since I wasn't sure of their relationship, but I assumed they were friends since he was going to look for him, and well if they weren't then maybe...was Sting gay? I looked him over. Hm. He _certainly_ looked somewhat gay because of how he dressed, but imagining Sting as _gay_ was just...unimaginable. However, if was very funny, so I chuckled softly with this secret thought running through my mind. He gave me an odd expression at my chuckling, but decided not to question me and answer me instead.

"Well yeah. Of course. Why the hell would I have gone on a mission with him if I wasn't?" He looked genuinely confused at my statement, and that made me chuckle once more. His lips pursed and he looked as if he wanted to know why I was laughing, but again he didn't ask why. Weird.

"Well I don't know..." I admitted sheepishly. I looked down at me fingers, and heard him sigh softly.

"Let's just find the uptight idiot. Then, we can figure out what to do after that about the _situation_." He said. I nodded and glanced back up at him to see him smiling faintly down at me.

My heart gave a lurch.

What? Why?

My eyes widened, and he grabbed my arm once again and pulled me towards wherever we were going. I smiled an idiotic and happy smile, and stumbled after him, undoubtedly following him. He did seem to know where he was going after all, and he _was_ strong. So even if he _was_ an incredibly annoying pervert, he could help me. And maybe...no. Don't think about it. I just shook my head and laughed, young and carefree. I sure was laughing a lot today...I trailed off to see Sting sneak a glance at me. His eyebrows were raised, and he said annoyed,

"Jesus Blondie, would you _hurry up?_"

Hmph. Why I put up with him was a mystery, but maybe it was just tolerance. Who knows? I just shook my head, and plastered an innocent smile on my face. He glared at me and huffed, pulling at my arm harder. I looked down at my arm and grinned.

Why was I grinning?

_***HI! HI! HI! Well...I made this chapter mainly StiCy moments, but trust me! There will be more of a story in the next chapter *GRINS*! It was fun to write this chapter, and although it's not very long, I hope you enjoyed it! So please send me those beautiful reviews and MAYBE I'll update even FASTER! Hmpf! Well thnx 4 reading! Love ya all! :D**_


	5. Rogue, Emotions, and What!

**5: Rogue, Emotions, and What?!**

(Sting's POV)

_Where was that uptight know-it-all?_

I couldn't help but think this as I dragged Lucy around, while trying to find the others. I already checked at the fountain and no one was there, as well as the library, but they weren't there either…so _where_ are they? I snorted in annoyance, and stopped walking, causing Lucy to slam right into me again.

"Look jerk…I've _already_ said to warn me before you stop so suddenly, _especially_ when there is someone walking behind you! Got it?!" She demanded of me. I just shrugged and continued to pull her along, still looking and not giving one look to Lucy. I heard her sigh. I just shook my head. That's her problem if she's gonna be so-my thoughts were distracted as she stopped suddenly and pulled her arm away, losing that smile that _had_ been on her face for the past couple of minutes, well at least before she ran into me again…

"Are you sure Rogue didn't just _leave?" _She asked me, crossing her arms over her chest. I just shook my head and tried to grab for her arm again, but she pulled it out of my reach and gave me a sharp glare.

"Look idiot…I'll just follow you. It's better than getting my arm ripped out of my sockets," she uncrossed her arms, and then crossed them again as she continued to speak, "so I'll just follow you, got it?" One of her eyebrows rose, and I pursed my lips.

"Whatever Blondie. Just make sure you don't get lost. Wouldn't want me to save again, now would we?" I smirked. Her glare became sharper and she looked away, annoyed. I smiled and looked away too, still looking for Rogue.

"Well let's go…and we should probably-"

"STING-KUN!" Lector's voice suddenly broke in and I was instantly tackled by the small flying dark-red cat. Lucy jumped back, startled, and I looked around.

There he was. After all of my searching, he was the one who _found me_. That didn't make me very happy, but I petted Lector soothing him as he started to cry in my shirt. Why was he crying?

"Well, it looks like I finally found you." Rogue said, nodding for some reason. Fro, behind him, agreed. Lector finally stopped crying which made me look down at him and ask _why _he was crying. Lector sniffed and was barely able to say,

"I-I-I thought t-that you were…_gone_…_forever! _Even t-though I kept t-telling myself that you wouldn't do t-that, but s-s-still!" He was about to break out in tears again, which made me wonder…it was as if all of Lector's emotions were just coming up, which was _strange_. Was about to respond, but suddenly I heard muffled crying coming from my back right. I glanced behind me, startled, to see Lucy there, sobbing her eyes out.

What the fuck…?

"_That_…was _so_ sweet! _Awwww…" _Lucy started to say through her tears, but couldn't manage it all. Why the fuck is everyone suddenly crying? I looked at Rogue and saw that he just looked amused and he said,

"Really now. I told you were just over exaggerating Lector, but you wouldn't listen…" he just sighed and put a hand up to his head. I grinned as Lucy and Lector cried and said,

"Ha! I found you too! I need you to help me." Rogue raised his eyebrows in surprise and scoffed,

"Help? _You_, the great _Sting Eucliffe_, wants _help?_" I ignored him and quickly explained the situation to him. He listened the entire time, and when I finished he just shook his head in distress.

"What?" I asked. I could still hear Lucy and Lector crying in the background, but I tuned them out. I now Lector's going to stop any time and Lucy can cry herself out for all I care…

"It's just amusing," Rogue said. What?

"Whadda mean?" I asked, showing my confusion. My response made him smile.

"I _mean_, what do you think I can do to help? Also, I just want to go home, and you _know_ that when we do our missions we do them and get the money. We _never_ help out with other missions, _especially_ mages from _Fairy Tail_. I mean, I have no grudges against them, actually I quite admire them, especially after the Grand Magic Games, but _you never_ liked them so why now?" He said. I gaped at him. It was one of the longest speeches that I've _ever_ heard Rogue say. It appeared Lector and Lucy stopped their moping and listened to. I couldn't move. I was numb. He was right. _Why _was I helping her? She _is_ a Fairy, and that won't ever change…so _why?_ I looked over at Lucy, to see her looking off somewhere behind Rogue. Good. She couldn't see me practically staring at her. I blinked, and I vaguely noticed Lector shuffle besides me, and maybe even say something, but I didn't hear him…why?

_Why?_

I noticed as Lucy closed her eyes for a second and breathed in. Oh, how I wished to know what this chick was thinking.

_Why?_

I looked away suddenly, and I felt her look at me. I gave in and found myself staring into her dark, brown orbs of questions.

She smiled at me, but instead of doing the right thing, I glared at her.

_Why?_

She flinched back in surprise and looked away as a deep shade of red spilled over across her cheeks. I looked back at Rogue and saw that he was watching, which made me glare at him as well.

He was still waiting for my answer, but right now…I couldn't think of any valid excuse except shit, shit, and more shit. Finally, Lucy broke the awkward silence and said, "I'm Lucy. It's um…nice to meet you." Her words were unsure, but still confident. Rogue's attention snapped onto her and she responded with,

"And to you too. I'm Rogue, and this is my partner Fro, as well as the idiot's partner, Lector."

Lucy laughed, still cautious, and Lector exclaimed,

"No! Sting-kun's the greatest and strongest person there is!" at the same time as me saying, "Go to hell Rogue."

That made Lucy laugh harder, and Rogue grimace ruefully. I snorted and looked away, and I'm sure Rogue noticed that I never answered his question, but he didn't comment on it. I was thankful for that, because I'm still not sure what I would say.

_Listen to me. _I thought.

_Listen to me. Me? _The _Sting was _thankful_? What did that say about me? _

I frowned as these thoughts continued to trouble my mind, and when I got my answer it troubled me even more.

_I'm weak. I'm _weak_. I'm strong, but I'm weak. Weak in what?_

I looked at Lucy again, and saw her smile at Rogue and Lector. My frown became more pronounced and I looked away with that last thought lingering in my mind.

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

Something was up with Sting, but he appeared to be mad at me right now, so who the hell cares, right?

Certainly not me, and because of that…

_I will ignore him_.

Yes.

I've reached my decision.

He's getting the silent treatment.

That bastard.

I scowled suddenly, but quickly regained my composure and chatted with Rogue. He was interesting to talk to, and that was because he didn't talk very much and when he did, he spoke so eloquently.

_Unlike that idiot friend of his. _

I laughed derisively in my head as I imagined myself turning and smirking at Sting, but I will not, because I am ignoring him. If he noticed the silence between us and him, then he certainly did not mention it or make any smart-ass comment on it whatsoever, which was _weird._

Instead, I told Rogue all that has happened since I got her, from the lady's story to me slapping Sting.

Rogue was a good listener.

When I finished he said,

"Well, I would think that the solution would be quiet obvious. I think that we should go and speak to this lady once more at the moment, and try and gather more Intel."

Sting, behind us, huffed, but still said nothing.

I wrinkled my nose in distaste and forced myself to not focus on the jackass. If he didn't want to try and be nice, then I'm _certainly _not being nice to him, not that I ever really was…

I crossed my arms, and continued to seem disinterested in his stupid ass fate. Rogue noticed, but said nothing, but instead asked,

"Where does this lady live?"

I unfolded my arms, delicately and looked down at my fingers, embarrassed, and before I could respond, Sting scoffed and said,

"She probably doesn't even know where she's at right now. She's absolutely hopeless."

That did it.

I spun around to face him and retorted,

"Oh? What about _you_? Huh? While Rogue and I are actually trying to figure this thing out," I got closer to him and stabbed his chest with my finger, "_you_, the mighty oh great _Sting_ is standing around, _moping!"_

He glared at me, and said back just as quickly,

"You know what Blondie, or Miss Damsel, or whatever the hell you are, _you piss me off!_" His words were sharp, and I poked him in the chest harder and growled back, with just as equal vehemence,

"Oh is that so? Well _fine! You piss me off TOO! _So why don't you just leave damnit! Why don't you, you jackass!" I was screaming now, but I couldn't help it. He glared at me and I glared right back.

I was not going to take this shit. Not now. Not with everything that's happening.

He leaned in closer to my face and hissed,

"_I'm. Leaving."_ He spun around and said to his comrades,

"Let's _go_." Lector looked stricken, but followed after him quickly and silently, but Rogue stayed where he was looking at Sting with an emotion that I couldn't understand and he said,

"I'm not leaving Sting. You promised Lucy that you would help her, even if not with words, and you _know_ you _never_ break your promises. Also, now _I_ want to help her, so even if you do leave and lose all dignity as a man, I'll just meet up with you later _after_I've helped Lucy." His words struck Sting like lightening, and Sting just stood there, dumbfounded and gaping.

Then after what seemed like that longest silence, he started towards us and passed us in a rush of a flurry, while he hissed,

"_Fine."_

I was frozen. I didn't want him to be here as much as he didn't want to be here, but now Rogue had to screw that up! Damnit! However, I kept my opinions to myself and remained the silent statue, before Rogue came up to me and said,

"He'll calm down eventually, so don't worry, and I'm sure you will too, eventually." He added the eventually, which made me smile ruefully and say,

"Yeah. _Eventually_." I looked at Sting's now still form and said, "But for now…I'll just remain pissed at him." Rogue gave me a small smile and looked down at Fro and said to us both, "Well, we should probably catch up with the idiot until he does decided he doesn't want any more dignity as a man."

I glanced back at Sting and then back at Rogue and asked, curious,

"Was that actually true?"

"Was what true?" asked Rogue.

"The promise thing, and the dignity thing." I mumbled, looking down suddenly, feeling shy all of a sudden. Rogue laughed, causing me to jolt in surprise.

His laughter was…surprising.

"Yeah. Every bit of it was the truth. I've never seen Sting break a promise, and when I asked him why, he just told me that it was the dignity of a person to keep them."

I swear my mouth was hanging open.

"A-are you _sure_?" My doubtful voice caused Rogue to chuckle once more and just nod while looking at Sting.

"Yes. He's indeed strong, and not just in power Lucy."

With those words hanging in the air, he turned and followed after Sting, who was still waiting.

Umm…okay?

I looked down at my feet and too out my celestial keys to study them. I'm not sure why, but when I do this, it comforts me. I pressed my fingers against each key and looked at each symbol, while trying to figure our what to do at the moment.

I looked back up and saw that Sting was looking behind him at me, with waiting eyes. I blushed, and he looked away, unfazed.

I glanced back down at my keys and thought,

_Well, no need to be pessimistic. Let's just go and talk to this lady and figure out where those girls went. Oh, and Natsu._

However, as I started to trail after them, another thought crossed my mind.

_What about when this stupid mission's over? What then?_

I looked to my side and saw all of the little stores and bakeries, with the laughing couples and laughing children inside. They were all happy, so maybe…

I should be too.

It's not like I have that much to be sad about anyways.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

Fuck everything.

Curse it all.

Damn it all to the pits of the freaking fiery oblivion of misery.

Just…_shit!_

I shook my head, appalled at my thoughts, and that was because I didn't even know what the hell I was still mad about. Still? I don't even know what I was mad about before! I shook my head again frustrated at myself and at Lucy, just because I knew she was a part of this.

Why was I overreacting so much, anyways?

I was acting so goddamn…

_dramatic!_

_I was acting like a raging hormonal teenage boy._

And I didn't know why!

It was _pissing me off!_

Rogue was staring at me during my entire lecture, and Lucy was still behind us keeping absolutely silent.

"So, Lucy…you really have no idea where this lady is? The one who gave you the mission?" I asked, on edge.

"Um…no. Not really. I remember that is was really close to that place where I got my outfits though…" She seemed startled by me suddenly talking her, and I had to pinch my mouth to stop my smile from escaping.

"So, you mean like a hooker store?" I asked, getting straight to the point. Her nose perked up and she jutted her lips out in defiance.

"_Noooo… not _like a hooker store, just a store where they sell clothes for girls who might be going on their honeymoon or are prostitutes…" She defended, determined.

"So… a hooker store?" I confirmed once again, and she just looked away. I laughed abruptly, but stopped almost as quickly. Lucy's gaze snapped on me and she said,

"Oh so _now_ you can be so chipper happy and nice? What happened to 'Lucy's such a raging bitch and she can't do shit, like find a house'? _Hmmm?_ What happened to _that, Sting."_ I flinched back. Her words were like punches being thrown at me, that I couldn't miss. Her eyes narrowed waiting for my reply, but before I could Rogue broke in and asked,

"Is that the store?" We both looked to see where he was pointing and almost immediately I saw Lucy brighten and exclaim,

"Yes! Yes it is! Thanks Rogue!"

She quickly rushed over there, leaving us behind in her dust to comprehend and hurriedly rush after her. When she got to the store, she looked around with a determined expression set on her face. She walked towards the right, shook her head, and then walked towards the right. Lucy walked for a bit before reaching a small looking house with green windows.

It looked stupid.

I looked over the house again, and back at Lucy and muttered,

"This the place?"

She just nodded as a response, and strutted up to the door. She knocked four times, loud and hard, and stood back, waiting.

No reply.

She knocked again, faster this time, but once again there was no reply.

Lucy was getting frustrated as she now started to pound at the door and screaming for it to be opened up, but no one opened the door.

Finally, right before she started to scream even _louder_, I yelled,

"Jesus Lucy! _SHUT UP!" _Before she could react I ran up the steps, pushed her aside (kind of gently), looked around to see if anyone was watching, and then kicked open the door. It fell easily and I kicked it away, to enter the small house. I turned around to face Lucy, expecting some kind of thanks but instead I received,

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT!"

Her tone was loud and it made my ears hurt, since I was so close to her. I backed up into the house, out of shock as she continued to rant on.

"YOU CAN'T JUST KICK OPEN HER DOOR AND SAY, 'oh, would you look at that….well we should come in even though we're breaking and ENTERING!' NO! JUST…NO!" Her screams echoed throughout the town and before I could think, I snaked one of my hands over her mouth, and my other arm held her against her chest. She went instantly still and I put my mouth against her right ear and hissed,

"What am I doing? What are _you _doing? Screaming like that…you'll get the attention of _everybody_ in town! Then, where'll we be, huh?"

She shivered under my grasp, and hissed back, with just as much force,

"I'm _so_ very sorry, Sting. Will you ever forgive me?" Her tone was harsh and laced with sarcasm, but I smiled against her neck. She writhed underneath me, which caused my smile to grow larger. I could feel her heating up and I watched as a dark shade of red burned on her neck and face. My smile soon turned into a smirk, and she started to breathe unevenly. Finally, after what seemed like a very long time she said, while breathing heavily,

"Sting?" Her voice was guarded and I blinked.

"Hmm?" I responded, as my nose touched her neck. She squirmed again, seeming uncomfortable with the entire situation. Ha. Sweet, sweet revenge.

"Would you…_let go of me?_" She asked, her voice laced with venom, but before I could even give her my answer, her arms jutted back into my ribs and caused me to kneel over onto the ground, gasping for breath.

"Arghh! What the hell Lucy?!" I demanded, still trying to catch my breath as I stood up, almost tripping over a couch. She stood there, arms crossed, glaring at me.

"_Pervert._ That's what you get! Also, you can't just _do that_, right after you tell me that I piss you off, which is returned, _trust me._" She scoffed.

I ignored her and brushed off the dirt on my pants. I was about to respond but Rogue, Lector, and Fro all came in, looking highly amused.

"What's so funny?" I snapped at them. They just shook their heads as grins spread out over their faces, and Rogue said,

"Oh, nothing much."

"Psshh… well whatever. Let's just look around." I said. They just continued to smile, and Lucy ignored us all, as she was already looking around.

The light was already on, and the couch that I had almost tripped over turned out to be some sort of sofa-chair thing, and it was _huge!_ I looked around some more, and noticed a lot of things not right. Such as, how everything was _perfectly organized and clean_. I looked over at the blonde and grunted,

"Hey chickie, was it like this before?" I tilted my head to indicate the room, and she just shook her head, looking worried. Rogue walked over to a small desk and examined it quietly. Suddenly, he looked up in shock.

"What is it?" I asked, demanding. Lucy looked over at him and raised her eyebrows, expressing more worry. Rogue looked down at something he was holding and muttered, "So, it's that lady we met earlier Sting?"

"What?" I asked, trying to confirm my earlier suspicions.

Rogue held up the same package that we delivered earlier on, and showed it to us, with a curious form of worry on his face. I immediately started towards the package, as did Lucy causing us just to run into each other. Before I reached him, I just said,

"Open it, _now."_ Lucy nodded furiously at my statement, and so Rogue opened it.

Rogue looked down at it in shock for a moment before Lucy whispered,

"What's in it Rogue?"

He only looked up at us and said solemnly,

"I think you're in for more than you bargained for Lucy."

I reached forward and snatched the package from his grasp, and looked inside.

I gasped, then cursed when I saw what it was. I reached inside for a moment, but decided against it, and instead emptied the box all over the floor for Lucy to see. I heard her suck in a breath in shock and she whispered, astonished,

"Why does..." she gulped, "why does this lady have pictures of me?"

I looked down, and gulped too. There were so many…pictures of Lucy's smiling face, at many, many different ages, and all I could do was look back at Lucy's worried face, and say,

"I don't know, but…we're gonna find out." My words were true and strong and Lucy's eyes met mine, and I saw something that I now vowed I would never see again. Ever.

Lucy afraid.

_***DUN DUN DUN! Well, because of you guys I'm updating only a couple days after I JUST updated, even though I SHOULD be studying for my VERY important exams tomorrow and Thursday, but oh….I couldn't help it! You guys make me procrastinate (that sounds wrong…). And yes, I know…Cliffhanger! There was no fighting in this chapter like I promised, but come on…this was a decent length chapter and it's actually getting somewhere! Actually, I was planning on making this chapter MUCH longer, but like I said….studying (advanced classes). So please leave a review and maybe I'll procrastinate some more for ya! XD**_

**_P.S. You also made me update before updating my NaLu story o_0…well I guess my StiCy love was just a little greater this time. :D_**


	6. Doubt x Questions

**6: Doubt + Questions**

(Lucy's POV)

I was shaking as I stared down at the tons of pictures of me.

What is this?

I saw a picture at my third or fourth birthday. I was holding a small doll, and my mom was there smiling at her fullest. My dad was smiling as well, all looking into the camera that took the picture.

What is this?!

I saw another; it was a picture of me when I was a baby in the bathtub with a pink rubber ducky with me, floating in the water.

What is t-this…?

I shivered, and looked over and over at the pictures. I looked up with fearful eyes and saw everyone staring at me. Rogue was looking at me with something like…pity? I didn't know, and I couldn't tell with him. I looked at Frosch and Lector, and I saw that they were just staring, not even sure of what to do.

Then, I saw Sting, and I was surprised to see him look determined with a hint of anger. I flinched back, out of the surprise I felt, and he just looked at me for a second then back down at the pictures, finally he said,

"Come on Lucy. Let's look around some more, and maybe we'll find out more about this bitch."

I smiled ruefully at him and nodded slowly, still in shock. He noticed, but he didn't press on.

I felt myself move forward and stumble. Sting caught me, and steadied me. I blushed, and he said,

"Lucy. Come on. Get your act together." His voice was low and soft, and it made me shiver slightly.

I was afraid.

I was afraid.

I didn't know what to do, but before I could actually realize what was happening…

I was sobbing.

Sting just held onto me as I sobbed into his arm. We were in an awkward position, with me leaning over on his arm, and him standing up supporting me with his arm.

I just continued to cry and Sting just said over and over again,

"We're gonna find this bitch and figure out what the hell is going on Lucy. Don't worry about it. Please." He sounded so strained, but I couldn't stop! The tears just fell lifelessly without any of my consent to it.

I was afraid.

My whole body shook. I was hyperventilating. Oh no…

_Calm down Lucy. Calm. Down._

It told myself this over and over again, but it didn't help much. I just continued to cry; like the weak girl I am.

Sting just supported me, not saying anything for a while, and not even looking at me.

_I am so weak._

_I cry too much._

_Like a weak person._

_I cry__…__because I__'__m weak. _

I shuddered again, distraught with the entire situation. Why am I being so negative with myself? I'm never _this_ negative.

I shook my head, still upset, but finally unlatched myself from Sting's arm.

How…completely embarrassing.

I blinked, trying to clear all of those tears away. I am such a baby! I just cry…way too much, and over stupid things like this no less! I sighed, and Sting just remained silent, quietly looking at me. I didn't meet his gaze, but instead acted very interested in my feet as I finally said,

"So, yeah Sting. Good idea. Let's continue to look around." My words were forced and short, and I'm sure Sting noticed, but he just nodded and turned to look around some more. I glanced towards the others and they seemed too preoccupied to notice my glance.

Hmm.

I cleaned myself up (wiping away tears), as I started to search as well.

The house, was still creepily organized, and besides all of the pictures on the ground…it looked like a house in a movie set or something. I shuddered once again, still creeped out by everything that was going on, and the fact that this lady had my pictures!

It's just…_how_ did she get them?

_How?_

I was racking through my brain for any, just any type of logical answer, but I came up blank. What was I supposed to do? I groaned, causing few glances at me, but they soon returned to what they were doing, which was searching.

We were searching for a good fifteen to twenty minutes when suddenly Sting threw up his hands and exclaimed,

"You know what?! Fuck. This. This lady must obviously be a stalker or just plain psychotic!" He glared around at the room with such a fervent look…it made me giggle.

He looked over at me, and raised his eyebrows, surprised. I stopped giggling and watched him, smiling slightly. He seemed somewhat relieved, but he tried not to let on.

"You overreact too much." Rogue stated, inspecting Sting solemnly. I let out another giggle, but then we heard a scream. All of us whipped around and Lector just said,

"Oh no…"

I quickly assessed the situation. It wasn't just _a_ scream. It was a scream from someone who I really didn't want to see right now, but I needed to.

It was her. It was the lady.

A silence came over all of us, as we stared at each other in complete and utter shock.

"Fuck," Sting finally said breaking the silence.

I only nodded.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

My eyes felt as if they were about to pop out.

It was her.

The fucking lady who kept calling me "_dearie_".

The one with all of the pictures of Lucy.

The lady who made…

Lucy cry.

I shook my head. Why the hell was I so overprotective of the blondie anyways? It's not as if she's so special… _why?_

I was just so damn…_frustrated._

And even more so, since there was not reason to be. I looked down at my shoes, trying to think about what the hell was going on. Why am I acting so…just…ughh…emotional? It wasn't me at all. Hell, when Lucy was getting tortured, I laughed. So, what is it that's making me act this fucking way. I'm not a nice guy.

I'm a _jerk, _but right now…I might as well as be some pussy guy who's weak.

That's what I feel like right now, and wait…_why__…__the__…__fuck__…__am__…__I__…__looking__…__down__…__on__…__myself?_ Something's going on and I need to-

"Is it working dearie?" The lady's random question snapped me back into the present. She was looking pointedly at me, so that means the question was obviously intended for me. I just gaped at her. How come I couldn't fucking respond? I want to _kill_ this bitch, but my feet wouldn't move, and my mouth wouldn't open.

The lady smiled, pleased and turned to face Lucy.

"How about you, dear, dear Lucy? Is it working for you?" The bitch just continued to smile at her, like none of this was a huge deal at all. Lucy looked absolutely livid.

"Who…the _hell_ are you, lady?" Lucy hissed at her. The lady jumped back, startled by Lucy's voice and only shook her head ever-so-slightly.

"I guess it's not working on you very much…hmm…yes. I suppose that makes sense, dearie."

"Who are you?" Lucy asked once more, while clenching her teeth as of trying to restrain herself. No! Just fucking attack her! I would…if I could freaking _move. _

I struggled, but my feet still wouldn't move.

Rogue looked at me strange, and then stepped forward towards the lady. The lady took a step back, and Rogue said,

"So, Miss…Clara, was it, or at least that's what you told my companions and I, I would like to ask a question."

The lady's eyes bulged, but finally she said,

"I think I know what you wish to ask me Rogue Cheney, and the answer will remain a mystery unless," she looked over at me, "that dearie can ask it." Her words were left hanging in the air like some unspoken aura. Lucy somewhat brightened, but all Rogue did was say,

"And what do you think my question is? I never even said it." His tone was sharp, from what I could tell, which was a little strange, since this was _Rogue_ who said it.

The lady only blinked at him.

"You were going to ask me about who I was and why I had dear Lucy's pictures, am I correct to assume that, or no…?" She seemed to be pretty confident about herself, and if it was me who had originally said I had a question, she would have been right on the mark, but since it's Rogue…who knows what his question actually is?

Rogue only silently glared at her and simply shook his head slowly. The lady, Clara, or whatever the bitch's name was seemed to not know how to respond, but there was no need because Rogue started to speak before she even could.

"Actually, my question was do you know where Lucy's friend Natsu is, which isn't at all what your _two _questions were." He gave her a forced smile, and it seemed to make Lucy even _more_ mad.

"Yeah! Do you," She moved closer to the lady and said right in her face, "_know_ where Natsu is? So, _do you_." Lucy snarled the last bit, but the lady only stepped back and laughed.

I wanted to laugh as well, but that was only because Lucy seemed to be _so_ scary right now, even though just earlier she had started to cry just from a "touching" moment between Lector and I.

Lucy continued to wait for the lady's answer, but the bitch only giggled widely.

It was seriously freaking me the fuck out.

However, it appeared to be making Lucy _seriously_ mad. So, I wasn't all that surprised when Lucy suddenly slapped her.

_Hard_, too.

The slap made a loud noise, and the bitch actually fell to the ground.

That's when I realized that Lucy _could _get really scary, almost like _Minerva_ scary.

Lucy then put her foot on the bitch's chest and leaned down and pressed her arm against her neck. Her whole aura was radiating anger and rage, and I even saw Rogue back away slightly with a surprised look on his face.

"Look lady, I'm not sure _how_ you have all of these pictures of me, and really it's seriously creepy as _fuck_. Now, sometimes I might just be some weak blonde-haired girl who cries a lot, but _right now_," she made her voice dangerously low and continued.

"_I. Am. Fucking. Mad.__"_

The lady's eyes bulged, but Lucy wasn't done.

"So…I'll ask _once again_, where _the hell_ is Natsu, and _who the hell _are you?"

Lucy continued to keep the lady underneath her grasp, but let go slightly in order for the bitch-of-a-lady to talk.

"Fine, you dear Lucy. I'll tell you _everything_, even what happened to those little prostitutes who disappeared so suddenly, or did you forget about them?"

Lucy didn't make one sound at all, and she didn't make a single movement, but instead only kept her hateful gaze on the lady with an expectant look in her eyes.

So this is how Lucy is for her friends, or _Natsu _I suppose. I half-shuddered.

Why did Natsu bother me so much, well besides the fact of the obvious?

I stopped thinking about it, and kept m gaze on their conversation.

Lucy slowly smiled and nodded just a slow.

"Yeah…tell me where they are too, now that you mention it." She said it so calm and collected that it was freaky.

Lucy was completely not herself right now.

I was actually awed.

The lady glanced over at me, and laughed again.

"Can you still not move dearie?"

If I could shoot daggers with my eyes then I swear that the bitch would be so cut up that no one would even _see_ her.

She chuckled and Lucy looked over at me, seeming to calm down. She looked around and seemed to notice where she actually was for the first time.

She immediately pulled back her arms and looked down at the lady in sheer horror. What was so frightening, and _why the hell _did she let go of the bitch?

Lucy put her hand out in front of her and then I saw them…tears.

Lucy was _crying_.

I saw red. That's all, and I opened my mouth to say something, anything.

Lucy continued to cry and then she collapsed down on her knees sobbing her eyes out.

What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On?

I struggled to move, but I still couldn't.

_Why not?!_

I tried to tell Rogue to do something, but he wasn't even looking at me. He just looked at Lucy for a long moment while all but Lucy's sobs were heard.

He looked shocked, and I kept trying to move. To speak. To do _anything_, but I couldn't do shit, and it was aggravating me! Rogue just stood there with Fro and Lector at his side, all just gaping at Lucy. Yeah…she's crying, now help her damnit!

I heard another sob.

This time it was Lector.

What?!

Another gasp of sobbing.

Now it was Fro…

_What is going on?!_

The lady just laughed again.

"And you Rogue?" She said, as Lucy crouched beside her crying her eyes out. Rogue shook his head, but as he did…I saw something glisten down his cheeks. What? No.

Rogue was…_crying?!_

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

I couldn't stop crying.

The tears just continued to flow on and on.

Why couldn't I stop?

I just knelt there trying to calm myself down, but failing miserably as my short sobs continued to escape me.

I think I heard the lady laughing, but I wasn't too sure. All I could even focus on was the fact that I was crying and I still didn't know why.

Why was I crying?

_Why?_

I heard Lector and Fro start to cry as well, and that made me cry even harder.

Why?

Why?

_WHY?!_

_Why was I crying?!_

_Why, damnit?!_

The tears just flowed down my cheeks as I choked on my broken cries. I tried to blink. I tried to _see_, but everything was a blur.

I heard another person start to cry, but I wasn't sure who it was. I really wasn't sure of anything…just…why?

"LUCY!" My head snapped up and I almost fainted. I was expecting it to be Rogue or Sting, but instead it was…it was the idiot. _My _idiot.

It was _Natsu!_

However, no matter how much I wanted to stop crying and to start laughing…I couldn't. So instead I started to look at my tears as more of cries of joy and happiness. I looked back at Natsu and tried to smile, but I bet it came out looking freakish. I heard a hiss, and turned to see that it was Sting who delivered it. He was still in the same place, with a tortured expression on his face, and at the sight of Natsu he looked really mad.

Oh no…they can't fight. Not now, and not here.

"LUCY!" Natsu cried again, and I snapped my attention back onto him. He had started to run towards me, but he seemed to be running rather slow. I tried to stand up, to go towards him, but I felt frozen. The lady who was now standing completely above me only tsk'ed and kept her gaze on Natsu. I saw her look at Sting, but Sting was only glaring at Natsu. I turned to try and find the others, but they were all crying…?

Rogue was crying? That didn't seem to fit right in my mind. He didn't really seem like a crier, but then again, I barely knew him.

I heard a loud crashing noise, and I spun around, but everything was moving too fast.

What was going on?

I heard the lady laughing, and I saw all of the pictures of me flying in the air. I tried to see where Sting was, but he was gone…where was Natsu?

I spun around again, and saw them.

_The two idiots were fighting!_

However, they weren't even using their magic yet…all they were doing was slugging each other, and kicking at each other.

_Why are they fighting?! _

_Don__'__t those two dumbasses understand the situation we__'__re in right now?_

The lady continued to laugh, as Sting and Natsu continued to pound at each other, while the other three just continued to cry.

I was so confused, and I was damn angry! Why?

"WHY AM I SO FREAKING EMOTIONAL?!" I suddenly screamed out in frustration.

Everything became silent, and everyone turned to face me. Natsu and Sting stopped fighting, while Rogue, Lector, and Fro all stopped crying.

Even the lady who had been cackling like a crazed woman (I think she is though…) had stopped and became utterly silent. However, the moment was short-lived as the woman finally huffed,

"Well then Miss Lucy, do you understand now?"

"What?!" I asked, still very emotional.

She smiled secretly and turned towards the two idiots. She lifted her finger to point at Sting, still wearing that secret smile.

"You," she whispered. He started to scream, and fell to his ground screaming,

"LECTOR! LECTOR!"

Lector started to rush towards Sting, at his sudden plea, but just as he was almost there, the lady pointed at him and Lector started to scream as well.

I just stood there, in complete shock.

What is this…?

I heard a laugh. My head snapped up and I saw that it was Natsu. He was_ laughing?!_

No.

_No!_

_I didn__'__t want this._

I shook my head over and over again, repeating that mantra in my head,

_I didn__'__t want this! I didn__'__t want this! I didn__'__t want this! I didn't want this!_

Finally, Natsu stopped laughing as I gaped at him. The lady looked at me, and snorted.

Who is she? _Who?_

"Enough. Disappear," she said, and as soon as she did, Natsu faded away, while Sting and Lector stopped screaming.

_Natsu faded__…__away? He wasn__'__t real? _

_What is going on? _

The lady turned towards me.

"You asked before who I am, am I correct?" She asked.

I only nodded, still frozen in shock. Sting stood up, and snarled at her. I vaguely saw Rogue behind him clutching Fro in his arms, with an expression that I couldn't place spread out all over his face.

"I'll tell you this dear Miss Lucy. I'm-"

"You're an illusionist, aren't you?" Rogue said, as he stepped forward. His face was now guarded and he still held Fro in his arms.

An illusionist?

The lady raised an eyebrow and gave a crooked smile.

"You are correct, but I'm not _just_ an illusionist."

"What? Are you a monkey as well? _Hmm? _What about a bitch? Oh wait…now that's already covered," Sting said. The lady gritted her teeth, but responded calmly,

"Oh dearie no no. I am _the_ illusionist."

"_The? _What the hell is that supposed to mean? Sounds more like some bullshit to me," Sting said, while scoffing.

I still couldn't move…this lady…why is she so frightening?

"It _means, _you precious dearie, that I'm the one who _created_ illusion magic, and trust me…it varies in all sorts of ways. Such as," she pointed her head at where the fake Natsu had been, "creating a false image of someone who's not actually here, or…planting emotions, or stirring them up."

"_You!__"_ Sting yelled, angry. The lady ignored him, and continued to speak as another smile appeared to creeping up on her face.

"_Or_…illusion magic can create places and people who don't even exist, such as…the dear place that Lucy had been for quite a while now. It's uses can also make the mind believe in things that aren't real, such as the ability to move... It can be used to manipulate…control…_use.__"_ She was smirking now. I glanced around, annoyed and frustrated.

_This woman__…__she__'__s making me doubt myself. _

"_Who. Are. You?__" _I asked, dividing each word, with a driving anger. Her smirk grew lager as she spoke.

"Who am I? Well you already know. I've told Rogue _and_ Sting, along with those miserable cats of theirs."

"You…" Sting said.

The lady laughed again.

"I'm _Clara, _and now that I've finally found you Lucy…I can finally leave."

...

_**(Also...I'm sure you might have gotten really confused by this chapter and I am SO SORRY...everything will be cleared up in the next chapter...and there's gonna be a little StiCy love...:D)**_

**_*Well hello there readers of mine_****_…_****_you should know_****_…_****_THAT YOU MADE ME UPDATE AGAIN BEFORE MY NALU STORY! Arghhh_****_…_****_.sorry _****_"_****_Completely Oblivious_****_"_****_ readers_****_…_****_*ashamed*. Welllll_****_…_****_this chapter_****_…_****_was _****_"_****_ehh_****_"_****_ for me. To me, it just contained a lot of mind questions, asking _****_"_****_Why_****_"_****_ or _****_"_****_Who_****_"_****_ so yeah_****_…_****_*cough, cough*. Okay this is going to be a long A/N because I_****_'_****_m thanking all of my reviewers! :D Here we go *determined face*!_**

**_…_**

**_Thank you to:_**

**_…_**

**-Hotmesschristine- _for being my first reviewer, and for reading! 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_**** VenusStar (can't write full pen name...sorry...Fanfiction gets rid of it...?)- _for reviewing as if thinking! 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****GoldenRoseTanya- _Okay, honestly_****_…_****_I_****_'_****_ve literally seen you review every single Fairy Tail fanfiction I_****_'_****_ve ever read_****_…_****_and I_****_'_****_m amazed! 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****Retreat- _Thanks you for your supportiveness! It really does mean a lot. :3 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****ElliBloodStain- _Again, for the support and just for reading! 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****Bloody. 5507 (also can't write full pen name...STUPID FANFICTION!)- _Actually, thanks to you, I added Minerva to chapter two! 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****Ka-tay****'****s mind- _Thank you so much for all of your reviews and support! Leave more! :3 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****KittyKatBite-_ Also, thank you so very much for all of the reviews and support, but quick question...Why _****_"_****_Meow_****_"_****_ at the end of every review (just curious_****_…_****_) 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****xxSaphireBluexx-_ Actually, when you told me it was _****_"_****_Awesomenes_****_"_****_ that made me write quicker_****_…_****_so yeah. 3 Thank ya!_**

**-Aika Miku- _Thnx, thnx, thnx! I_****_'_****_m touched when people tell me they love it_****_…_****_so 3 Thank ya!_**

**-sabrina- _Thank you verrryyy much for your review! I loved your guesses and they were partially correct! So 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****Madeline-chan09- _Thanks for the support on my exams, and thank you for reading! 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****1fairytaillover- _lol. You_****_'_****_re comment made me crack up for some unknown reason_****_…_****_so thanks for that I guess? And thanks for reading! 3 Thank ya!_**

**_-_****Moronandhersis- _LOL! I loved your review, and actually your review is what made me update before my NaLu story_****_…_****_*shame on you_****_…_****_jk*. 3 Thank ya!_**

**_…_**

**_And last but certainly not least, a thank you to one who_****_'_****_s read three of my stories I believe_****_…_****_and for leaving reviews on all of them_****_…_**

**LucyXHeartfiliaXFan-_ THANK YOU (why above ^^^) 3 Thank ya!_**

**_Ohmygurdddddd_****_…_****_.that took a while! And thanks to all of those who are following as well, and to those who fave_****_'_****_d it! I will try and update as soon as I can, but let me update my NaLu story first (urghh_****_…_****_)! Okay, well byeeee! :D (And leave a review!)_**


	7. No Common Sense and No Thank You's

**7: No Common Sense and No "Thank You's"**

(Sting's POV)

"Okay…what the fuck is going on?" I asked.

It was true too. I had _no_ idea what was even going on right now. I mean…was I supposed to?

What...the hell?

I glanced at Lucy, and then at Rogue. Rogue seemed to have it all figured out, and Lucy just looked as confused as I did.

The lady, or Clara, whatever the hell her name was, stood there, smiling as if she had just won the lottery.

_Well fuck her too…_

"I just explained it dearie," Clara said, answering my earlier question. I looked at her, frowning.

"Okay?" I asked. I mean, was that supposed to make sense?

"Yeah…I'm with Sting…what _is_ going on?" Lucy asked, breaking into the awkward silence. Clara huffed and crossed her arms.

"How do you _not_ understand dearies? I _literally just told_ you!" she exclaimed.

I shrugged, and Lucy coughed ever-so-discreetly. Rogue remained impassive, and stared on, while Lector and Frosch did the same.

_What is happening right now?!_

I finally snapped and asked,

"You said you were some sort of…_illusionist_, or something, right?"

"**_THE! The _**illusionist!" Clara screamed at me, making Lucy jump. I glared at her, and snarled,

"Okay bitch…_the_ illusionist. I really _don't_ give a fuck. What I'm asking is _why_ that is so important to us? _What_ exactly did you _do?_"

She just tsk'd, making me even more pissed off, but before I had time to react, Lucy had suddenly gone over to her and slapped her right across the face.

That's when I started laughing so much that it started to hurt my stomach, but I quickly regained myself and just stood there grinning like an idiot, staring at the dumbstruck bitch named Clara.

Lucy was still right there, invading her personal space, as she practically hissed in her face,

"Okay. You're going to tell me now, and I _mean_ now. What. _The fuck_ is going on, and how the hell are you involved in it again? Just tell us straight up what was fake and whatnot…blah, blah, blah, before your face gets…_ruined._ Now, also tell me, _where. Is. Natsu?"_

Her last statement wiped the grin right off my face.

_Why the hell does Natsu get all of her attention?!_

_Damnit Sting. Calm down!_

However, I still did not smile as Lucy waited for the answer.

Clara smiled slowly revealing her perfectly, white teeth.

"Alrighty then dear Lucy. Here I go. Firstly, my powers, like I said before, allow me to control emotions towards others or sense it, like for example, right now Sting is jealous of the fact that you dear Lucy keep worrying about your friend Natsu. However, with one simple thought _change, _I could perhaps…make him incredibly angry." She glanced at me, and suddenly, feelings of absolute hatred and anger overwhelmed me. I glared at Lucy, who was currently staring at me and snarled,

"_Why?! _Why the _fuck_ do you have the right to make me feel this way? You _piss me off! _Your whole fucking _existence! _I wish I never met you, because right now I. Am. So. Mad."

Lucy looked appalled for a second, and that's exactly how I felt.

_What the hell is wrong with me? What. The. Hell? _

I looked back up at Clara, and suddenly it made sense once more. I mean, I _did_ understand earlier on when she first told us, but now it_ really _made sense. Clara clicked her tongue and gave me another sharp glance, and almost immediately all of those feelings of anger just…faded.

Clara then looked back at Lucy, who was still staring at me, and continued on with her explanation.

"Also, I can create erm…let's see…_fake_ people, or at least the illusion that they are here, such as that Natsu you saw earlier, and those girls earlier on at the horrid place, although in reality I created those sluts from the top of my mind."

We all stared at her in shock, although Rogue seemed way too unfazed in my opinion. Clara pretended not to notice.

"Also, my illusion magic can create that _place_, or building as you may call it, as well. It was just an illusion that was planted into your minds to fool you."

She glanced at all of us, and then faced Lucy once more.

"Like I said earlier, and you should know that I _really_ hate repeating myself, illusion magic can be used to _use_, like I did to your dear, dear Natsu, Lucy."

"Where. _Is he?!_" Lucy asked, dangerously low.

Clara laughed, and waved a hand at her, as if she were only a small bug that was just…_there_.

"Okay _fine. _I'll tell you where he is. I simply told him that you had already gone back to Fairy Tail since you already completed the mission," Clara said.

Lucy looked appalled.

"And he actually _believed _that?!" she asked incredulously. I stifled a traitor laugh.

_Wow. Natsu actually believed that? I mean, I know he beat me and stuff, but was he actually that stupid?_

However, the thoughts of superiority quickly vanished as Clara shook her head and responded with,

"No. Not at first, which is when I decided to create the illusion of a certain _memory_, per say, of Lucy telling him that she as going on ahead, and him staying to look for Happy, who had "gone off", when actually none of that actually happened."

I noticed Lucy clench her fists as she took in what Clara just said, so I said,

"So, Natsu's safe and sound at Fairy Tail?"

Clara just nodded, but that didn't really make Lucy any calmer. It made me a little peeved, but I ignored my feelings, because now I couldn't even trust my own mind because of this bitch! I looked down at my feet, trying to calm my emotions—I'm usually a pretty calm guy.

"What's your relationship with Lucy?" Rogue asked, breaking my reverie. At that comment, Lucy's face suggested that she wanted to know too, and the fact that she said,

"Yeah…you said that you "can finally leave" or something…what dos that _mean?_"

Clara stared at her for a few seconds, and next thing we know… we were getting her freaking life story.

_What the fuck? Who cares?!_

"Well when I was a little girl, my father once told me that—"

"Wait, wait, no. Why can't you just tell us what you mean about how you can leave or something?" I cut in, a little annoyed. There was no way I was just going to sit around and listen to her stupid ass life story, when it probably doesn't even matter…

"I agree. Can't you just tell us what you have to do with Lucy," Rogue said, suddenly being much more involved in the conversation than he was before. I shot him an irritated glare.

_Oh, so now he cares too? Hmpf. Damnit. I hate these emotions…_

Clara looked more than pissed, but I guess took the hint because she got right to the point after that by saying,

"Fine. I used to be Lucy's mother's hated enemy. Once, we were fighting over something stupid, when her mother put a well…one of her spirits put some weird ass charm on me that would cause me to stay in this town forever, until I calmed down and became _friends _with Layla…however, soon after the curse, she died, so I was officially stuck here. Until one day, one of her spirits visited me and said that if I came to know Lucy and care for her, then I would be free, so I did what I must."

We all gaped at her, shocked about what the hell she just said.

I looked over at Lucy, who looked a little confused about something.

"Wait…so let me get this straight," Lucy started to say. We all faced her waiting for what she had to say.

"So, when you were younger you used to be the hated enemy of my mom, one of my mother's spirits put some _charm_ on you to make you stay here forever until you became friends with my mother, however she died, so according to one of her old spirits you had to take care of me or something?"

Clara only nodded, which seemed to make Lucy even more confused, and somewhat shocked. Lucy shook her head in disbelief.

"Okay…so you decided to do this by basically setting up a fake prostitute mission, lying to me, stirring up weird emotions, causing me to go out of my freaking _mind_ dealing with this jackass over here," she glanced at me, "_hoarding_ pictures of me, which is oh not creepy at all, telling my partner and best friend that I already left, _and_ basically attacking us with some creepy ass illusion magic or something?! Is _that_ what you're tying to say?!"

I stifled a laugh, because Lucy's point made absolute sense and the expression on Clara's face was absolutely priceless.

Lucy, however, continued on with her mantra.

"Now how…it's just _how_ does that even _make **sense?!**_ Like, why would _anyone_ do that?! What is _wrong _with you?!"

I heard Clara faintly gasp and that's when I couldn't take it anymore. I walked over to Clara, punched her, effectively shutting _her up_, and then burst out into a fit of laughter that I haven't had in a _long_ time.

I looked over back at Lucy, and just grinned, in spite of all of my defenses. This girl…she was something, all right.

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

I glared at Sting, as he literally fell to the ground laughing his ass off. I guess if you _do_ think about it, it really is quite ridiculous. I glanced back at the now knocked out Clara, and sighed.

_Why would **anyone** try to befriend someone the way she did? That doesn't even make ANY sense whatsoever! I thought she was basically going to try and kill me or something! She still scares the hell out of me! _

I just continued to look down at her still figure, vaguely hearing Sting's annoying laughter.

_She knew my mom…_ I shook my head, effectively getting rid of those thoughts, and turned to face Rogue.

"Thanks for everything you did Rogue. You were a great help," I said.

He seemed pleasantly surprised, but just gave me a nod in response, as he looked back down at Clara.

"Well, it seems our work here is done, right Sting? I guess we should leave," he said.

Sting stopped laughing, stood up, and gave me a lazy glare.

"Hey Blondie," he said.

I gritted my teeth, which just seemed to amuse him, but he still kept _his_ glare on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"Why haven't you told me thank you yet? Rogue barely did _anything_, when I practically did _everything_! Why does _he_ get a thank you?"

He seemed a little peeved about this notion, so I just gave a slow, coy smile, trying to look pleasantly innocent. His glare only hardened.

"Oh? Are you jealous Sting?" I asked, a little too sweetly.

This time it was _his_ turn to grit his teeth, as he responded back abruptly,

"Hell no. I just think that since I did well _everything_, I should get some credit, Miss Damsel in Distress," he said, smirking.

I shook at finger at him and said,

"Ah ah ah, now just because of that…you don't get a thank you. Too bad for you asshole."

He didn't respond, so I just assumed that I won this round. He huffed, and just turned around to pick up Lector and say,

"Come on Rogue. I guess we got to get out of here, since I see absolutely _no reason_ why we should be here in the first place."

I scoffed.

_Know-it-all jackass. _

I put on a cheerful smile, and responded just as casually,

"Okay then. Well it was very nice meting you Rogue and I hope you have a pleasant day. As well as you Lector, and of course…Frosch. Maybe, we can meet up again sometime?"

I pointedly ignored Sting, as he stood there seething in his own idiocy.

Rogue forced a smile and said,

"Are you sure you can get back alone Lucy?"

"Ermm… yeah," I said, not even convincing myself.

_What am I saying? Of course I can get back alone, so why do I feel like I don't want to leave at all, or that I shouldn't? _

All four of them looked unconvinced and it seemed three of them were about to just take the answer, but the idiot one spoke up and said,

"Oh? You won't get lost and become _yet again_ another Damsel in Distress? Are you sure about that?"

I looked away, jutting out my chin, still ignoring him. He snorted, and turned towards Rogue.

"Hey Rogue. I'm going to take the princess home, so just go on ahead without me."

Rogue didn't look very surprised, which I assumed I did, as he shrugged and walked off, taking Frosch with him. Lector, of course, stayed with Sting. I smiled. Sting and Lector's relationship was a lot like Natsu's and Happy's…just about how close they are with each other.

Sting walked over to me, still carrying Lector, and grabbed my arm.

"Hey! Stop! What are you—" I said, but he cut me off.

"Just come on. I'm taking you to that weak home that you love so fucking much, so don't you worry. You can see your precious friends and _Natsu_ once again," he said, not looking me in the eye. I frowned slightly, and pulled back, to look behind me at Clara who was still knocked out.

"Well, what do we do about her?" I asked, still trying to pull away from his grasp, but he had a firm death grip on it. He looked behind him at Clara as well, and just shrugged.

"I don't know. What do you want to do with her? It's really up to you, and I'm still not even sure what half of the conversations that we had with her were even _about_…"

I nodded, refusing to chuckle at what Sting said, and just said,

"I don't really know either…I mean it sucks she can't leave, but she _didn't_ befriend me and that's her problem, right? But, I still feel really bad about jut leaving her, since I'm her only chance…so I don't know!"

Sting just shrugged.

"It's up to you Miss Princess," he said. I shot him another glare, and huffed slightly, still thinking about what I should do with Clara.

In the end, I just left her a note that said that I forgave her and we could be friends or something like that. Hopefully, it would work to get her out of town. I just couldn't imagine anyone being left alone in this town for so long, which made me still wonder about why my mother would do something like that…or at least one of her _spirits_. I stopped thinking about it, and finally, just allowed myself to get dragged along by the one and only annoying as hell Sting.

The trip to the train was quick and Sting, Lector, and I all boarded, ready to take me back to Fairy Tail.

I looked out the window as Sting settled in front of me, and when the train gave a lurch forward to start, I realized something that I should. Not. Have. Forgotten.

So when Sting suddenly gave a large groan and fell forward into my lap, I was definitely startled, but quickly remembered that he, like Natsu, had motion sickness.

I sighed, and was about to push him off, but that seemed kind of rude. I mean, no matter _how_ much of a jackass he is, he _did_ help me with the whole Clara thing and he _was _seeing me home, so I did what I usually do with Natsu.

I ran my fingers through his hair, and it worked effectively causing him to sigh and roll over so that he was now on my side of the train and facing up at me with closed eyes.

I didn't look at him, as I continued to run my fingers through his remarkably soft hair, but I swear before I heard him drift off to sleep I heard something that sounded suspiciously familiar to,

"Right now… Natsu doesn't get you…"

But then again…that was probably just my imagination.

Right?

**_*Hiyah! Well…I was looking over my stories and realized more than A FULL MONTH had passed since I last updated this story, which made me feel INCREDIBLY guilty…so gomenasai….okay, so this chapter. Here's how it went: I hated writing the beginning and I LOVED writing the end…actually one of the reasons I didn't update was major writer's block, because after like a week, I completely FORGOT who Clara was going to be, so I just came up with something completely new…well anyways, thanks for reading, and leave those wonderful reviews you do so well! XD._**

**_…_**

**_Oh and P.S. Some of you have actually PM'd me and asked for what music I listen to while writing (ya'll are weird) so here's a link to a few (for writing- I listen to soundtracks…)_**

**_ watch?v=XYfySVrQxto_**

_**watch?v=0JGpbPqbTm**_M

_** watch?v=2S3WtJYgy1Q**_

**_and my personal favorite:_**

**_ watch?v=i4oelVlDJZc_**

**_P.S.S In the manga...Sting became a little...ermm *SPOILER* nicer and such, but I'm still keeping him as kind of an ass in this story so yeah..._**

**_Well BAIIII!_**


	8. Trains With a Side of True Love & Anger

**8: Trains With a Side of True Love and Anger.**

(Lucy's POV)

I sighed as the train finally pulled into the station in Magnolia. It's not as if Magnolia was particularly far from the town that we were just at, but apparently, something happened in the back of the train that caused an extra two hours to he trip.

Sting didn't mind since the train was _stopped_, but I was pissed, and I was still pissed.

_Seriously?! What adds another two freaking hours to a train trip?! __**What?!**_

However, none of the train conductors so much as even glanced at me, so I just gave up on trying to get the damn answer out of them—they're just…mean.

So here I was, just now arriving, as Sting's head was on my lap. He had probably woken up at least five times, and he had gone back to sleep at least five times as well. However, the first time, he had been so embarrassed to see himself sleeping on my lap, that for the next thirty minutes, he had refused to look at me.

But…he still got tired, and tried desperately to find a comfortable position on the train seats to fall asleep, but in the end he gave up and just fell asleep on my lap once more, still refusing to actually _look _at me.

_Whatever… he's still a jackass._

When the train came to it's final lurch, Sting fell off of the seat and my lap and toppled right onto the disgusting train floor. He groaned, and I watched, smirking slightly, as he groggily and dizzily stood up, rubbing his head.

I had to admit…it was a pretty cute thing to watch, but I diminished that thought to the depths of hell and just said,

"How was waking up, idiot?"

He threw me a glare, but said nothing.

Instead, he immediately ran towards the exit and out onto the platform, and ignored me completely.

_Yup. Still a jackass. And an idiotic jackass at that._

When I finally got out holding the one small bag that I never even used on the "mission", I stepped outside into the clear day, smelling the wonderful town of Magnolia.

"Hey Blondie! You still with me?! Can you go home from here, or do I have to fucking walk you like the princess you think you are?" Sting's rude, and loud voice interrupted my poetic thoughts, and I responded back curtly,

"_No._ In fact, I'm not even sure why you came with me in the first place! So just go home, asshole."

He just shook his head and looked to his right, annoyed, but quickly turned to face me again, this time, with that stupid ass smirk of his.

"Because you would have gotten lost Miss Damsel," he said coyly.

_Fuck him. _

I gave him a sweet smile, and simply pointed at the train.

"Go," I said.

He looked me over again, and finally shook his head _again_, and just got onto the train with a wave that was more like he was brushing me off, or dropping off some irritating kid.

_I hate him…_

_He didn't even say goodbye, did he?!_

_That filthy jerk!_

_And what was up with all of the shaking of the head? It was so irritating! **He** was so irritating! Ughh!_

I shut my eyes, and tried to close away the world, and thankfully, somewhat succeeded.

Finally, I just decided to forget all about Sting and just head on home, and then on to Fairy Tail.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

I groaned. I really hated trains… and cars… and any other fucking means of transportation.

I groaned again as I felt myself fall forward.

_Where was Lector? He wasn't even here when I saw the princess off…wait, why am I just now realizing this?_

The train gave a sudden stop, and then another just-as-sudden lurch forward, that made me want. To. Fucking. Die.

_I **hated** motion sickness! Hated, hated, **hated** it! _

Lector still wasn't back, and it was kind of worrying me, but since I could barely _move_, I couldn't really do much.

Which…sucks ass.

I somehow managed to push myself back onto the train seat, still thinking about Lector, but as soon as I my head hit the seat I immediately thought of Lucy's lap… her warm, comforting lap…and…

_What's w-wrong… with… m-me…?_

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

As soon as I entered my apartment, of course tiptoeing past my landlady's room, I instantly rushed towards my bed, and plopped down into its heaven of comfort.

I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, wondering about too much, but there was one thought that kept nagging at me.

_I wonder if Natsu's really okay…?_

I immediately sprung up and had a determined mind to just go on ahead to Fairy Tail, to find out if Natsu _was_ actually safe.

…..

When I arrived at Fairy Tail, I was greeted by the wonderful sight of the guild fighting over who-knows-what. However, it made me happy to see the place that I called home was of course, still the same.

Although, I was a little peeved that _no one_ noticed me. Seriously, I've been gone for a little more that a _week_, but they were too busy fighting to even _notice_ me.

_Eh…maybe I was just being a spoiled brat._

I glanced around, looking for Natsu, as I walked in slowly.

_Where was he?! Why was he not here?! What if Clara had been lying and Natsu actually **wasn't** safe?! What if— _Natsu's loud voice cut me off.

"Say that again Ice Princess!"

"Okay! I _said_ that you're a dumbass, dumbass!" Gray, who had already stripped, yelled.

"Oh yeah?!" Natsu asked, seething.

"Yeah!" Gray agreed.

_Of course! Of **course** they were fighting! Those idiots!_

I looked over Natsu from the small distance that I was stationed, and saw that he seemed perfectly all right. He didn't even seem _hurt_, or _worried_ for that matter…I suddenly found myself storming over to him, and grabbing him by his scarf.

His eyes widened when he saw that it was me, and I vaguely noticed Gray scurry off, probably in fright. Natsu just stared at me with the grin of his on his face, and he had the _nerve_ to say,

"Oh Lucy! You're back!"

I glared at him and let him go, and Natsu stepped back, just now noticing my sudden fury with him.

"Lucy?" he asked. "What's wrong Luce?"

"You! You! _You! **You! **You're just so… **YOU! **_Urgh!" I screamed at him.

_What was wrong with me all of a sudden?_

He took another step back, with those still wide eyes of his. Suddenly, I just ran out of the guild.

_However, I did know. I knew what was wrong with me. I know why I stormed out of there, pissed with the world and him just as quickly, as I had been in there. _

For some reason…when I saw Natsu all safe and unharmed, without a care in the world… it made me worried that I worried so much about him.

However… I was also a little disappointed. Because for some reason…when he was talking…I-I wanted it…

_I wanted it to be Sting. _

I sighed.

_Honestly…_

I stopped in front of a bookstore, and peered inside.

_What do I do with myself?_

I stepped inside, just to get away. To get away from the weird, I'm-going-to-freak-Lucy-out-feelings.

_…There's something wrong with me…_

* * *

(Sting's POV)

I couldn't find him anywhere. I had finally arrived back in my hometown, but Lector was still nowhere to be found.

He couldn't still be on the train, could he? I hoped not, because there was no way in hell that I _ever_ want to get back on one, but if it was to save Lector…then I probably would.

_I would do a lot for that cat- my friend. _

I was currently sitting down on a bench, trying very hard to not freak out, but I was about to fail pretty soon if I didn't find him.

_Where could he be? Where?! Wher—_oh yeah.

_How did I forget this? Well… I **had** been dying on the train, but still… how did I forget? _

The memory just came back to me. It had been when I desperately needed to go to the restroom, so I pretty much army crawled to the bathroom, with Lector beside me. I think he was saying something about stopping Magnolia to get something that was only in Magnolia…but I don't really remember what it was, and I'm not in Magnolia anymore!

_Damnit, damnit, damnit! I have to get back on the train! Damnit!_

I stood up, placing my hands in my pocket.

_Maybe I could get Blondie to help me…she would help, right? Plus- What the fuck! What the hell am I thinking?! I don't want to see that spoiled brat anymore! Why do I keep thinking about her? **Why?!**_

I started towards the train station, with amazingly slow pace. Why hurry? I'm sure Lector is just fine, plus the more time I don't have to be on that train, the better.

But I did know that he could be freaking out right now, so I picked up the pace, and got on the moving purgatory.

_Here I go…_

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

I wanted to cry my eyes out, and the stranger reason was that I didn't even know why. Here I sat, at one of the tables in the bookstore, trying to read this book about true love and matches or something.

_True love… I wonder who mine is… I wonder if I even have one?_

_I mean… there's Natsu… but he's just so oblivious it's idiotic, and I'm still not sure if I like him like that. There's also Sting who— wait. Did I just consider Sting as a romantic interest? Geez… am I sick or something?!_

I tried to focus on the words in the book.

**_'Later that night I realize that Ky did not give me any more of his story and I did not ask. Perhaps it is because now I live in his story. Now I am a part of his, and he of mine, and the part that we write together sometimes feels like the only part that matters.' (1)_**

I shut the book, sad again. I mean…this character in a _book_ has more love than me, and it sounds like they get along… Natsu and I get along, and Sting…ughh... _hell_ no. I still didn't understand why I was even _considering_ Sting in this mind conversation, but somehow…he was just there.

I glanced around, expecting him to just come out and scream at me or something, but I was greeted by silence…and wait…what was that?

A…dark red cat?

_Lector?!_

* * *

(Sting's POV)

I was _finally_ back in this good-for-nothing town, but the trouble was…I had no idea where Lector was, or where Lucy lived… which has nothing to do with the main fucking issue here.

So, I just decided to walk around aimlessly for a while and ask some random people if they've seen a flying, dark red cat, but so far, no one has been useful to me. So, finally, I started to ask around for Lucy too, because she knows this town much better than I, and since I helped her with that stupid ass mission of hers, then I figured she owed me…_especially_ since the brat never said thank you.

So, imagine my surprise when I asked the next person I saw, about Lucy, and that they knew her. They even pointed me in the right direction of the guild. Not like I wanted to go there anyways…but still, maybe I could catch her walking out or something, because there is no way in _hell_ am I just going to walk into the guild that defeated ours in the Grand Magic Games.

Yup. No way in hell.

However, when I actually caught sight of the guild and the large sign that said,

**FAIRY TAIL**,

I stalled, not wanting to get any closer.

Plus, I could vaguely smell Lucy outside, and a trail somewhere, so instead of getting _any_ closer to her damn "home", I decided to play the part of Dorothy and follow the path, but this time it was her scent.

I walked for about ten minutes, until I finally arrived at a place with Lucy's scent all over the fucking place. I looked up at it, and noticed that it was a large building by a winding river that came in through the town. I also noticed the short, fat landlady, sweeping, who had stopped and was now glaring at me as I studied the building.

"You! Yes you there! Do you need anything?!" The short, fat lady asked. She was wearing something really tight that was white and blue, and it took all of my will to not laugh out loud, but I didn't want to do that, because I needed to find Lucy to find Lector.

_Yeah… that's the only reason, _I thought to myself a little too assuredly.

So I pursed my lips, and responded,

"Err…yeah. I'm looking for a blonde-haired, big-chested princess who goes around calling herself Lucy. Do you know her?"

The lady hmpf'd and crossed her arms, almost ripping the clothes that she was wearing.

"Yes. I know Lucy. Why do you ask?" she asked me, not giving much away.

"I need her help with something, but I'm not sure where she is, so I thought to look for her house or something…"

_Why the fuck am I being so polite? Is it because this lady creeps the hell out of me?_

The lady peered at me with her creepy-ass eyes, and finally nodded saying,

"Usually it's a pink-haired boy, but that Lucy…maybe she plays around? Here, she lives here, so let me just show you to her room," she said, seemingly talking to herself, I presumed, since I had no idea what the hell she was talking about. Finally, she nodded, and let me in, muttering softly,

"At least this one has the decency to use the door, instead of that pink-haired one."

I clenched my fists as I followed her up the stairs, to what I assumed would be Lucy's room.

I just realized that the "pink-haired one" is Natsu, and I really didn't want to think about him right now.

The further I walked up, the more I was hit by Lucy's scent, repeatedly over and over again. It was maddening for some reason… however…I somewhat noticed another scent as well.

_Natsu. _

_Damn him. I didn't want to think about him! His scent is pretty strong too… damnit Lucy…what the hell are you doing to me?_

The short one stopped in front a door, and just said,

"In there."

Then, she just walked off to go whatever people like her do…I opened the door, and stepped inside to be greeted by a seemingly somewhat annoying yet admirable voice.

"Lucy! Finally you're back! I need to talk about what happe—and…you're not Lucy…_what the **fuck** are you doing here?!_"

I looked at the voice and saw none other than the Lucy-hogging Natsu. The same Natsu that showed incredible strength at The Grand Magic Games. The _same fucking_ Natsu who I admired for years, and wanted to defeat. The same Natsu who _beat_ me in the Games, and also…the same _fucking_ Natsu who gets all of Lucy's attention.

Natsu had stood up, and now had a fist of fire, bouncing off of his hands. He looked confused, and pissed.

_Ha! **He **was pissed?! The one who gets **all **of Lucy's attention and worry, and yet he thinks he has the mother effing right to be pissed off in front of **me?!**_

He just lost all the respect I had for him, but before I could say anything, the little jackass cut in.

"_You!_ **_What_** are you doing here?! Where's Lucy?! Did you hurt her?! _Why_ are you here?!" he asked me, making his flames increase by each word. I noticed his cat, the blue one, behind him, also glaring at me with accusing eyes.

"What did you do with Lucy you jerk?!" The blue cat demanded.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Natsu cut in _again_.

"**_Was it you?! Was it you who hurt her?! Was it YOU?! WHERE is she?!"_** Natsu screamed at me, still looking confused, but his rage definitely overpowered his confusion.

_Wait...what? What happened? Why is he so mad at me?! Why is he **blaming** me for something?! **Why does he get the fucking right to complain?!**_

He pissed me off…so…much.

_He gets her. _

That's…that's when I launched myself at him, letting my anger come through.

_He gets **her**. So… I'm going to beat the shit out of him._

_**(1): An excerpt from a random book I picked out called "Matched". It was written by Ally Condie. I own nothing. **_

**_*HELLO! So…I updated pretty quickly this time, right? I wasn't planning on it, but when I was writing in Fairy Café…I just desperately needed to write in this. Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and sorry for the cliffy! \(o_o)/ _**

**_Oh, and could you do me a favor and maybe take my poll on my profile page, as well as leaving me a lovely reviewwwwww?! XD. Well keep reading! ;)_**

**_OH AND I REACHED 54 FUCKING PAGES IN THIS STORY NOW, SO YAY. Okay now baiiiii! XD._**


	9. Revelations and a Surprise

**9: Revelations and a...Surprise. **

(Lucy's POV)

"Lector?! What are you doing here?!" I asked, as Lector got closer to me.

"Lucy? What are _you_ doing here?" he asked.

I just crossed her arms and huffed.

"I happen to _live_ in this town, but what about you? Shouldn't you be with Sting right now going to back to Sabertooth or something? Wait…he didn't _forget _you did he?!" I exclaimed. Lector looked down sheepishly and muttered,

"Well not exactly…I mean I _did_ tell him I was going to try and get something here since it's only found here, but I told him when he was sick so he probably didn't know…that's why he left…"

I frowned, and leaned down to pick him up, much to his disdain.

"That jackass can't even pay attention to his best friend, now can he? Not like I don't understand your position Lector…actually I'm kind of in the same dilemma myself…but come on, I'll take you to my house okay? Then we'll set off tomorrow and return you. Is that all right?" I asked.

Lector looked down at my arms and said,

"Yeah I guess it is."

I smiled and headed on my way back to my house, already knowing that I was already starting to forget all about my stupid best friend.

…..

When I was just about to open the door into the small apartment complex that I lived in, the landlady stepped out of her room and spotted me.

"Oh. There you are. He's already up there if you must know, so don't even bother asking me about him, okay? Oh and I think the other one is up there too," she said, walking off leaving me in the dust just as quickly as she had appeared.

_He's already up there? Who is? Natsu? B-but she said that the "other" on was up there too? Wait…what?_

I clutched Lector even closer to my body as I ran up the stairs and towards my room. I heard something loud. It sounded like a crash or something.

I swung open the door and was met with…well I'm just not sure what.

First of all there was Sting, who was currently sitting on my desk holding what looked like to be an alcoholic drink. He was also pretty bruised up, which brought my attention to…Natsu.

_He_, however, was on my bed looking much more bruised up than Sting and he was _also_ holding alcohol.

Then…there was my room, which looked as if a fucking _tornado_ had gone through, plus…there was food everywhere!

"Sting-kun!" Lector suddenly exclaimed, literally launching himself from my arms and towards the idiot blonde.

Both boys looked up and made eye contact with me.

"Lucy! Lector! Lucy, you found Lector! B-but how did ya know I was lookin' for him? I was pretty sure I didn't see you…although *hicuup* that wasn't the _only_ reason I was lookin' for ya!" Sting exclaimed, making no sense whatsoever to me. Natsu snorted and I focused on him as he said,

"Y-yeah right! No….no shit that's not the only reason! Hahahahahaha! That's why you attacked me after all!"

_Sting attacked Natsu?!_

"NO! You were _definitely provoking_ me to attack you! You were…were askin' for it!" Sting yelled, raising his bottle at Natsu. I noticed Lector just stopped aside and watched the two just like I was doing.

"Nuh uh! I was just in here and *hiccup* y-you came out of…it was nowhere and then BAM, we're fighting and blah blah blah and yeah…I'm hungry! Lushhhhyyyy could you make me something? You have no food left ya know!" Natsu said, just making me more confused.

_What… the hell? Why were they acting like so fucking close? And w-why were they drunk?! Why was Sting even here! Hell, why was **Natsu** here? Why do there have to be so many damn questions?!_

I just stood there, too dumbfounded to even move, as I witnessed the strangest sight that I have ever seen occur in front of me. When I realized that Natsu requested something of me, I just slowly shook my head. However, he didn't even seem to notice as he continued to talk with his fellow drunk "friend", Sting, who like Natsu, was now falling so hard into the liquor that he was losing the ability to form complete sentences…not like he could before…I smirked.

"So…uh…what happened exactly?" I asked. I saw that Lector nodded at my question as if he wanted to know too, which he probably did. However, as soon as I asked it both boys started cracking up laughing as they spilled whatever contaminated their minds all over my floor since they started slapping their knees almost in unison.

_Damn… just how drunk are they?!_

"Uh…haha what's so funny?" I asked, more hesitantly this time. Lector just looked afraid.

"Everything!" Sting exclaimed throwing his hands in his air, looking more carefree than I've ever seen him, which I had to admit, was pretty freaking hilarious… plus a little cute. I was about to respond, but suddenly Natsu had passed out on my bed with a loud grunt.

_What the hell?_

Sting started cackling like a wild man, and he turned to face me, still laughing his ass off. I only stared back at him, unsure of what was even going on. He gave me a large, toothy grin that actually looked so much like Natsu's that it creeped me out. It just didn't suit him. At. All.

"Hey Lucy?" he asked, suddenly very solemn as he stopped laughing. My eyes only widened as I stayed utterly still.

"Yeah?" I asked weakly.

"You know…this is all your fault by the way," he stated, and just as soon as he finished telling me that, he too passed out as his whole face slammed into my desk. Lector immediately flew towards him, obviously freaked out that maybe he had died or something, but I just stood there for a full second before finally processing what he said.

_My fault?! How the hell is this my fault?! Wait… **what's** my fault?_

I glanced at the two passed out males in my apartment and just sighed.

I sat down on the side of my bed that Natsu _wasn't_ occupying and tried to find some room to actually get comfortable in, but I didn't want to wake Natsu up, not like I could anyways…I sighed.

Honestly. It was the _middle_ of the _day_, and here these two idiots reside, passed out from drinking for who-knows-what-reason.

"Hey Lector?" I asked. The red exceed seemed startled that I still knew that he was even here when I spoke to him.

"Yeah?" he asked, still lying on Sting. I smiled.

"Hey, so I'm bored and hungry. You want to go somewhere to eat or something? These two idiots are obviously not waking up any time soon so yeah…maybe we could go to the library after that? You like books right? I mean…you _were_ in that bookstore, right?" I said. Lector looked down at his paws and then at Sting.

"I don't really want to leave Sting-kun but I'm hungry too…and you don't seem _that_ bad so okay," he mumbled. I smiled at the thought that I would have company, because even if he didn't want to go, I would still have gone.

"Okay cool. Let's go," I said. He nodded and followed me out, glancing back once more to look at what I assumed was Sting. I smiled at his worry, but continued forward.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

_Where am I?_

My eyes snapped open and I found myself staring at hard wood. I immediately lurched upwards and glanced around.

"Finally awake?" a voice that sounded awfully close to Lucy's asked. I turned around to find her sitting down on her bed, next to a passed out Natsu, smirking at me. She also had Lector, _my partner, _sleeping in her lap so comfortably and soundly that it freaked me out.

"Uhh what happened?" I asked, rubbing my head groggily. Her smirk grew, and she said,

"Like I know. I was actually hoping you would know so that this is all cleared up. Because I have no idea what the hell went on in here, but when I arrived her for the first time today, you and Natsu were drunk."

_Natsu and I got drunk together? I only do that with good friends though… **certainly** not **Natsu.**_

I rubbed my head again, trying to get rid of this aching headache that was now present in my head. Then I realized something.

"You found Lector!" I exclaimed, happily. Lector didn't wake up and greet me with anything as he remained in Lucy's lap, sleeping comfortably. It kind of pissed me off, but I wasn't sure if it was because Lector was actually _comfortable_ sleeping in Lucy's lap, and _wasn't_ sleeping in _mine_, or if because I wanted to be in Lector's place. I blinked, successfully vanquishing those thoughts to oblivion, as Lucy responded,

"Uhh yeah Sting. I _found_ him, even though he's not supposed to be _found_, or _forgotten_." I pursed my lips, not knowing a response to the obvious truth, so instead I just changed the topic.

"Haha so uhh…do you like lemonade?" I asked, glancing around. Lucy raised her eyebrows as she stared at me incredulously. Finally, she started to laugh, and I mean…_really_ laugh. It was so funny and unexpected to watch as she laughed and laugh, still somehow not waking up Lector, but her laughing was just so…happy.

"Hahahaha….d-do I like…like lemonade! Hahaha geez Sting you _suck_ at changing topics! Hahaha weirdo!" she exclaimed between laughs. I started to laugh too for a short moment, before I realized that she just insulted me. So, instead I just sat there a little unsure of what to do.

When she finally stopped laughing, she regained her composure and said as seriously as she could muster,

"Yes Sting, yes I do like lemonade."

I just stared at her, wide-eyed, a little unsure of how to respond. How did this frustrating blonde-haired _brat_ manage to make me speechless? _How?!_

I just shook my head, and tried to stand up, but the headache managed to push me back down. I saw Lucy smirk. Why do I feel as if out positions has been reversed? I bit back a curse, but otherwise stayed silent. I noticed Lucy shift slightly.

"Uh…Sting?" she asked.

"Yeah?" I mumbled. I heard her sigh of relief. I frowned slightly and stared at her. She stared back, no longer carefree.

"Oh nothing. I was just making sure you hadn't gone deaf or something…" she looked away and I noticed a small blush appear on her cheeks. I smiled cheekily, but before I could say some smart-ass comment, I realized that she wanted to say more, but she wasn't so instead I said,

"Spit it out already."

She looked at me, startled. I raised an eyebrow as I leaned back into the chair, smirking slightly. She looked…_troubled_. What the hell?

"What's my fault Sting?" she asked suddenly, with a low voice. Her fault…? What did she mean…suddenly it all came back, the memories, rushing in.

_Oh._

**_Oh!_**

Okay, now I understand. I looked at Natsu, and saw that he was snoring and he looked pretty beat up. I smirked, pleased that I hurt him somehow, that bastard. I noticed Lucy follow my gaze. She glanced back at Natsu and then back at me, as she spoke.

"What is it?" she snapped.

"Oh nothing much….except that I remember what happened," I said, directing my smirk at her this time. It was also pretty fun watching her instantly spring up as a spark shone in her eyes. Strange…

"Really?! So what happened?! Tell me damnit! Oh and you guys are paying for this by the way…" she pointed around the room, but otherwise fixed her intent gaze on me.

"What if I don't want to?" I asked, sitting back down in the chair. I watched her gaze turn into something more "villain" like as she took in my words. I wanted to laugh, but I kept a straight face and just gazed at her expressionless or at least I hoped I was "expressionless".

"_Tell me_ Sting," she snarled.

I shook my head.

"No," I said.

She took a slow step forward and put on her puppy-dog eyes.

"Please Sting? Won't you just tell me? I'll might even let you off the hook for the expenses that you owe me," she said, trying the sweet and innocent route. I smirked and shook my head not even bothering to say anything this time. She glared at me, pissed off.

"Damnit Sting! Why won't you just tell me!" she asked, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Fine…I'll tell you, _if_ I get something in return, and it can be _anything_ that I want, got it?" I said. Lucy just stared at me.

"Well what do you want?" she asked, sitting back down.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll tell you when I figure it out," I retorted. She snorted.

"That's not _fair_ though…I mean what if you want something that I can't do, or can't afford?" she asked.

"Then it's your problem for ever asking me what happened. So… do you want to know what happened or do you just want to continue not knowing?" I asked, still smirking.

She threw me another glare, before shifting her gaze around the room, analyzing it. She looked back at me with those big, brown eyes of hers.

"_Fine_. I'll agree _if_ you wipe that damn smirk off your face," she hissed. I tried for a straight face, and actually succeeded. I nodded.

"Okay then. I'll tell you," I said.

"Good," she said, nodding. "Well go on already!"

"Okay geez, calm down Blondie. I was about to tell you but _no_—"

"Just get on with it already jackass!" she exclaimed.

I laughed and responded,

"Now I already said calm down Miss Princess, but okay. So, I think you know how Lector…_stayed_ behind—"

"You forgot him," she stated, cutting in. I shot her a glare.

"Do you want me to tell you or not Princess?"

"Fine go on, and don't call me Princess jackass," she said, motioning for me to continue. I gave an irritated sigh and continued.

"Okay _anyways_ when I got back home, I _realized_ that he _stayed_ behind, and _no_ do _not_ interrupt, okay so I traveled back to this "wonderful" place so that I could… _retrieve _him and bring him back home. However, when I was walking around no one knew where he was, and I didn't even know where _I_ was, so finally I gave in and started asking around for you because I knew that you owed me a debt, which I figured could be paid helping me _retrieve_ Lector. And weirdly enough people knew where you were and even pointed me to your hah _small_ apartment and—"

"Damnit Sting! Hurry up, plus how do I _owe_ you?!" Lucy exclaimed, cutting in _again._

"For fucks sake Blondie, would you _shut up_. I'm _trying_ to explain what happened to you, who was the one who _wanted_ to know in the first place!" I snapped at her, my irritation growing by the second. Why the hell did I want to see her besides to get help with finding Lector anyways?! What the hell is wrong with me?! She crossed her arms and just sat there, still glaring at me and I had to bite back my smirk.

"Okay so basically when I got here…Natsu was here, and err…somehow we ended up fighting. However, after that he…_guessed_ something about me after I accidently…_accused_ him of something and then we made nice and started to get drunk so we could rid of the pain. I'm pretty sure that I won the fight though," I stated proudly. Lucy just looked at me incredulously.

"Uhh Sting?"

"Yeah?" I asked, still biting back that smirk.

"That explains almost _nothing_. I mean, hell, could you get _more_ vague with it?! Why did you fight?! What did he guess?! What did you accuse him of?! Why the hell did it have to be in _my_ apartment?! Seriously, you _could_ have gone outside and fought out there but _no_ you just _had_ to destroy _my_ apartment _jackass_," she screamed at me.

I flinched back.

"Look Blondie," I said standing up and walking towards her. I leaned in so that our noses were almost touching, and she froze with wide eyes.

"You never told me that I had to explain _every_ single fucking detail now did you? I don't have to tell you _why_ because in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't _matter_. We fought and got drunk, that's about it," I hissed.

Honestly, there was no _way in hell_ that I was _ever_ going to tell her why I got pissed at Natsu. If I told her that I was jealous then she would just laugh in my face and…wait.

_What the hell did I just think?!_

**_Me?_**

**_Jealous _**_of **Natsu?!**_

_No… no way in hell. _

_You know you are Sting. You know you were jealous of—no **still** are jealous of him. _

I shook my head furiously, causing a raised eyebrow from Lucy. I glanced down her face, and found myself staring at her lips. They were _right_ _there_ and if I leaned in _just a bit_, I could kiss her. _Easily. _

_What the hell are you thinking, Sting?_

My eyes stayed on her lips, and suddenly I knew what I wanted.

_I knew what I wanted_.

_I knew it._

_I've **known** it ever since she slapped me. _

_Damnit Sting, how could you?_

_How could you?!_

I found myself leaning in, and I noticed that Lucy was still frozen in shock. A blush spread across her cheeks, but I kept leaning in.

_I know what I want._

_How could you Sting?! How?!_

Her breathing had stopped and I heard a loud pounding in my ears. Was that my heart, or was it hers? Why wasn't I stopping? Why did I have to realize something so idiotic _now_?!

_I know what I want. _

_So do it. Take what you want Sting…_

_but… but how could you?!_

I leaned in even closer pressing my lips against her, causing her whole body to become _absolutely_ frozen with what I guessed was shock. Trust me Blondie, I'm shocked too.

_How could you?!_

Her lips felt so warm and I pressed in even harder.

_How the hell could you fall for someone like this? How could you let yourself fall for someone who's a Fairy? How could you?! How could you fall so easily?!_

_How could I fall for Lucy Heartfilia?!_

**_*If you guys are freaking out hard right now then I wish I could be there to see it. Haha well probably the biggest cliffy yet, right?! And ooooh what's going to happen? Hmmm?! And actually this was actually hard to write…I'm not sure why. Anyways keep reading, and keep reviewing! ;)_**

**_Actually another thing. For those FMA fans out there, I'm starting a crossover story for Fairy Tail and FMA. It's gonna be good. Plus, I'm actually writing A LOT of stories that aren't published yet on this lovely site, such as Rave Master, Naruto, and even Fruits Basket. Hmm so yeah. This is a long A/N isn't it? Sorry bout that. :/_**

**_And DAMNIT take my poll would ya?!_**

**_Anyways bai guys!_**

**_I'm just going to go listen to sad vocaloid songs because I feel like I need a good cry…hmm maybe I'll re-watch the sad parts of CLANNAD. Damnit. Even thinking about it makes me want to cry. Damn this is a LONG A/N. Anyways, leave a review!_**

**_Oh wait not done yet, haha. Okay so someone asked how long this fanfic is going to be. I'm planning for it be no more than 20 chapters. So somewhere around 12-20 chapters. Okay so yeah..._**

**_Bai guys._**

**_-DiAnna44 :) _**

_**...**_

_**Facebook Page: DiannaFanFictionWriter**_

_**Twitter Account: /TheDiAnna44**_

_**STALK ME. ;)**_

_**Just gonna be something to let you know what I'm writing in, when I update, ideas, and blah blah blah... :)**_


	10. Seeing You

**10: Seeing You.**

(Lucy's POV)

Sting was kissing me.

. . .

Sting was _kissing_ me?

. . .

_Sting was kissing me!_

_. . ._

**_STING WAS KISSING ME?!_**

And…and…and…a-a-and I l-l-liked it?!

I felt him lean in, and kiss me harder, but I couldn't move. I was frozen and unresponsive as I kept trying to grasp this fact in my head, but…no…this…this was _weird!_

His lips opened, but I was still a statue.

Damnit! Why can't I move…but if I could…what would I do?

Well first of all, he has no right to just kiss me out of the blue like that and make me all confused!

You just _don't_ do that.

Second of all, one should not be such an excellent kisser therefore just adding on to the confusion part…shit.

If I kissed him back then that could mean that I was saying "yes" to whatever wishes he wanted, or maybe I could play innocent? Oh who am I joking? How the hell could you play _innocent_ by kissing him back? There's just no way.

But what if I didn't _want _to play "innocent"? What if I _want _him to know that I don't mind him intruding all over my lips like he is?

But damnit… he's _Sting_ though! The annoying jackass! I am just not sure it I really want this yet… or damnit I don't know!

Damn you Sting! Right after I start getting my mind back together, and _away_ from all that confusion shit with Clara, you come out and kiss me like this! Arghh!

Finally, he realized that I wasn't moving, and he took a step back. I just stared at him, wide-eyed, as he stood there wiping at his lips and panting slightly.

Damn…he looked _hot_…but still…

"Sorry," he murmured. I didn't say anything, and I didn't do anything. I just stared. I could still feel his lips on mine, and now that they were gone… all I felt was this sudden sense of loss.

Now is that a good sign or a bad one? I watched as he shut his eyes for a second, still regaining his breath, and when he peeked them open to watch me again, he looked almost…ermm… _defeated._

"Err Lucy? Why are there two of you? A-and w-why do I feel like I'm about to fucking puke? Damni—"

He fell onto the ground, and it looked like he was sleeping. Wait…so was he still drunk of his ass? Is this how he acts when he's drunk? I don't know I've never seen the bastard drunk before! How the hell am I supposed to react?! Damn!

I moved one foot forward and before I knew it, I was out the door and running.

* * *

(Sting's POV)

As soon as the door shut I sat back up. I looked at the door, and groaned inwardly.

_Fuck._

She didn't kiss me back, and hopefully she took my lame ass excuse of trying to show her I could still be drunk, but still…was that really the best excuse I could have come up with? But what the hell was I supposed to say?

She. Didn't. Kiss. Me. Back.

So was I really going to say,

"Oh hey Blondie, so I just realized I might actually be fucking attracted to you too much, and I hope it's not weird I practically just forced myself upon you, and even though you didn't kiss me back, let's be fucking friends?"

Fuck no.

Either she was mine, or nobody's. Damn… fuck me, now would you?

I glanced at Natsu who was still passed out in her bed, and glared at him.

It's _his_ fault.

If he hadn't told me what he did, then maybe this wouldn't have happened, and I wouldn't be fucking up my mind trying to deal with this one emotion.

What happened to the me where I just…didn't….give…a shit?

I stood up, and stretched.

My fake fall kind of hurt, and damn, I'm pretty sure I didn't land on my back right, but oh well. Not that big of a deal really. I glanced over at Lector, and grinned inwardly.

Then forcing my gaze on the door, I wondered if I could just take Lector and make a run for it, but no…then Lucy would suspect _something_…but damnit, I can't just stay here and try and act drunk forever, because _eventually _she would know that I wasn't drunk anymore, and start to interrogate me if I remembered anything…which I _really_ don't think I could handle right now.

Damn…right now I am starting to wish that I never met the fucking blonde.

_Shit._

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

I was running too fast for my body.

My body cannot handle this, but I just can't stop. I had to get away. His presence _alone_ confused the hell out of me, plus there is just no way that I can stay there when he woke up.

I mean what was I supposed to say, and how could he have been drunk that entire time?! What if he wasn't though?!

Damnit! Why would he fake drunk though?!

I just kept running.

Finally, before I knew it I was at _Natsu's_ house. Why the _hell_ was I here now? I opened his door with a bang, and rushed inside, not surprised in the least that it was incredibly messy. I huffed.

Seriously.

I clean it up for him, but I bet as soon as I left, he just started to get all messy again.

I looked around and walked over to the wall where he had all of our memoirs.

He is really sweet… and the densest idiot alive, but he's still my best friend?

Now why couldn't I have fallen for him instead?

Wait.

Did I just think…did I really just think…

_Instead?!_

No. "Instead" suggests that I have already fallen for someone, and the only one I can think of who could _possibly_ fit that category is none other than the very jackass who I just ran away from.

Wait, crap.

_"Ran away from,_" I muttered. I sat down on one of Natsu's couches thinking this over.

"If I ran away from him, the one who I _might have_ fallen for…well if it's like all those damn romance novels that we'll end up together? Wait no…in those romance novels the guy usually comes running after the main girl to confess his love or something…and instead Sting just passed out drunk so…is that a good sign?

Or is it something that would never happen in one of those novels? Well, I mean this _isn't_ a novel but still…but if he _was_ drunk then there's a possibility that he won't even _remember_ anything, but damnit what if he does?! Or what if like I thought earlier he's not actually drunk, and does know what he did, but never says anything about it?! That would be awful! But no! What if he _does_ say something about it?!

No! That's even worse!

Why did this have to be so complicated?! And why did he have to kiss me?! _Why_ am I freaking out about this?!

...What if I just pretended it never happened? I could do that right? IF he doesn't mention it, and if I don't then it will never trouble us again, _right?_ Oh who am I even asking? I'm here all alone practically talking to myself in _Natsu's_ house for that matter. Seriously, why am I even here?" I asked myself.

I sighed heavily, and stared at the floor. It was so messy…maybe I could clean to pass the time?

Yeah…I'm just going to clean, then I guess I'll go back…

* * *

(Sting's POV)

I just lied there, staring at the uninteresting ceiling, waiting for Natsu to get up so I could tell him a message to give to Lucy. I mean, I already tried to wake the damn idiot up in so many ways it wasn't even funny, but he was _passed out._

Damn idiot.

I shut my eyes, closing off the world.

…..

**_"So why are so mad at me anyways?"_**

**_"Why the hell wouldn't I be?"_**

**_"I don't know what that means…I thought you said you admired me or something…or wasn't I like your rival? What happened to that? Now it seems as if you just hate me or something…"_**

**_"I do hate you."_**

**_"Why? Oh and do you know what's up with Luce?"_**

**_"Luce?"_**

**_"Yeah, what about it?"_**

**_"You call her Luce?"_**

**_"Course I do. I'm her best friend, besides I think it's kind of cute, don't you?"_**

**_"Sure…I guess. And damn… you got me pretty good."_**

**_"Yeah me too. You know this is going to bruise right? Oh and you never answered my question."_**

**_"What question?"_**

**_"Why do you hate me?"_**

**_…_**

My eyes snapped open, as I heard a loud groan. I sat up, rubbing my head, and saw that the pink haired idiot had finally decided to wake up.

"Sting?" he asked.

"Uh huh?" I said.

"Where's Luce?" he muttered, swinging his legs over the bed.

"Oh the princess? Oh…so left I think. I'm not sure. I passed out again while we were talking," I said.

"Oh," he said.

"Yeah," I responded.

He looked around the room, and raised an eyebrow.

"Did we do this?" he asked.

He doesn't even remember?

"We sure as hell did, and Lucy's pissed about it. She's going to make you clean it all up or something…" I said. He jumped up.

"What?! Why just me? What about you?!" he protested. I gave him a hard glare.

"I'm going home," I stated. The words hung in the air, and Natsu just stared at me.

"But what about Lucy?" he finally asked.

"What about her?" I retorted.

"Well based on what you told me last night doesn't it seem like you should maybe tell her or something…about how you fee—" I cut him off.

"No, you got it wrong. I'm going home. Just tell her that I'm going to be really busy so I don't want to see her again, okay?"

"What the hell Sting? You can't just do that! You're her friend at least, or at least I think you are…anyways you can't just leave your friends behind!" he argued.

"Have to. I'm in a different guild ya know," I informed him once again.

"Yeah I know. I hope you know I still consider you my enemy. The only part I like about you is what you feel towards Lucy," he said.

"I already said I don't feel anything towards her, and if she asks you that, then tell her just what I said, okay idiot?"

"I'm not an idiot, ya know," he defended. I smirked, and stood up, picking up the sleeping Lector. He stirred, but otherwise didn't wake up.

"Yeah you are, and pick this up would you, or Lucy's going to get really mad at you," I told him. Natsu shivered, muttering,

"Ah…scary Lucy…"

My smirk grew wider, as I turned around to leave, but before I went, Natsu called out to me.

"Hey you know I'll consider having a battle with you soon if you want to. You were great at the Games," he said.

"Uh huh," I muttered, waving at him over my shoulder, as I walked out.

I looked down at Lector, as I took a step outside.

"Come on Lector…let's go home. I'm sure the clean freak is waiting for us," I grinned. He didn't wake up, only moved in my arms. I looked behind me and sighed softly.

"Bye Lucy…Luce…huh. Cute…but it's not me…bye Blondie," I muttered.

I turned around once again, but found myself face to face with none other than… _Lucy._

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

"Sting?" I asked. He looked surprised for a quick second, but the expression as soon gone as he smirked.

"Oh hello there Blondie. Out for a stroll?" he asked.

_Condescending bastard…_

I huffed, crossing my arms. There was no way I was going to tell him that I've been cleaning for the past hour to try and not think about the kiss, so I just gave a stiff nod. He nodded in return, and I noticed Lector sleeping in his arms. Sting was holding onto him like a baby, and I smiled.

Cute.

Sting noticed my smile but didn't say anything, and I just stood, frozen to the spot.

What was I supposed to say?

We just stared at each other for a minute, letting to uncomfortable silence take place between us two. I forced my gaze onto the ground.

Should I talk and break the silence, or should I let him talk? But what if he talks first, and mentions the kiss? What if he doesn't even remember? Should I talk first? Damnit...maybe I should…I just don't know…

"Well I'm heading out," he said, cutting off my thoughts. My head snapped up, but I still remained silent. He paused for a second before walking past me, and muttering a soft,

"See ya princess."

Oh no.

Should I call after him? But…even if I did, what would I say? Plus, he didn't mention the kiss so why should I bring up a conversation that could somehow lead to that?

What should I do?

He kept walking, and I just stayed there, staring ahead of me at my apartment complex.

I don't know what I should do.

I turned around slowly, and saw that he was gone.

Did I do the right thing?

I nodded, firm with my belief that I did, and walked towards the door, intent on giving a strict lecture to Natsu and also an interrogation.

I looked back once more.

I'm sure I made the right decision so…so…

_Why does my heart hurt so much?_

**_*HEY GUYS! I UPDATED. Even though it is kind of short compared to my other chapters…sorry. I have literally been SO BUSY, argh! I hate school. :/ Well, I hope you liked this chapter and if you left a chapter it would sure mean a lot to me! Pwetty pwetty pwease?!_**

**_Bai guys._**

**_-DiAnna44 ;)_**

**_Next to update: Completely Oblivious and Best/Worst._**

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